Google Ads suspends legit macOS app ad for 'Malicious Software'
Original: How I advertise malicious software on Google Ads
Why This Matters
Highlights the risk of opaque automated ad policy enforcement with no clear recourse for legitimate software developers.
Developer of RACE, a native macOS terminal multiplexer built in Rust, had their Google Ads account suspended for 'Malicious Software' and 'Compromised Site' after spending $500 on ads. Multiple appeals were rejected with no explanation. Account was later reinstated after the post gained attention on Hacker News.
The developer of RACE — a native macOS terminal multiplexer written in Rust that allows free positioning and resizing of terminal windows — spent $500 on a Google Ads campaign before their account was suspended under Google's 'Malicious Software' and 'Compromised Site' policies. The developer conducted a full security review: Google Safe Browsing reported no issues, VirusTotal confirmed the distributed DMG binary was clean, and Google Search Console showed no security issues for either race-term.com or downloads.race-term.com. The macOS application was signed and notarized. The website used only Cloudflare Analytics with no third-party advertising trackers. Despite submitting detailed evidence across multiple appeals, each was rejected without explanation of what triggered the original suspension. One appeal resulted in a week-long block from further submissions. Google's rejection notices pointed to EU redress options but provided no actionable information. After the post surfaced on Hacker News, the account was reinstated — still without any official explanation from Google as to what caused the suspension.