--- title: Up to 13% of mobile video ad clicks are accidental description: How big of a problem are accidental clicks in the mobile space? Pixalate data research finds that up to 13% of mobile video ad clicks are accidental. image: https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20covers/smartphone%20click%20fingers%20phone.jpg --- [![pixalate-full-logo](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Pixalate_Logos/pixalate-full-logo.jpg?width=150&height=60&name=pixalate-full-logo.jpg "pixalate-full-logo")](https://www.pixalate.com) Search **Menu** ** ** ![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20covers/smartphone%20click%20fingers%20phone.jpg) [Thought Leadership](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/thought-leadership) | 1 min read # Up to 13% of mobile video ad clicks are accidental Written by [Tyler Loechner](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/author/tyler-loechner) Aug 7, 2017 7:13:00 AM Accidental clicks are not strictly *fraudulent* in terms of purposeful deceit— but they are a form of invalid traffic, and the impact accidental clicks have on marketing budgets is largely quantifiable. Facebook recently announced its decision to crack down on accidental clicks; the social network won’t charge advertisers if the user goes back to the original page within two seconds of clicking the ad. [Advertising Age](http://adage.com/article/digital/facebook-cracks-ads-trick-fat-thumbs-click/310051/) and [MediaPost](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjIupiKkN_VAhVMxCYKHYTVDFAQu4gBCCgoATAA&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediapost.com%2Fpublications%2Farticle%2F305508%2Ffacebook-will-stop-charging-advertisers-in-fan-for.html) covered the news in depth. But just how big of a problem are accidental clicks in the mobile space, particularly on smartphones?  ### **Someone clicked your mobile video ad? There’s at least a 13% chance it was an accident** There are a few telltale signs of an accidental click. One of the most obvious is if the click happened too fast. Nobody clicks on an ad the instant it appears unless it’s an accident. Using this definition, Pixalate dug into all clicks that came via programmatically-served ads in July 2017 to bring some hard numbers to the discussion. ![pixalate data mobile video accidental clicks](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Gifs/pixalate%20data%20mobile%20video%20accidental%20clicks.gif?width=640&name=pixalate%20data%20mobile%20video%20accidental%20clicks.gif) ### Key takeaways - Smartphone web video ads are hit the hardest. At least 12.61% of all ad clicks from smartphone web video ads served via programmatic were accidental in July 2017. - This is significantly higher than [tablet web video ad accidental clicks rates](https://blog.pixalate.com/accidental-clicks-tablet-ads-data) (5.7%). - Just shy of 6% of clicks on display ads within smartphone apps were accidental - Smartphone app video ads had an accidental click rate of 3.72% - Smartphone web display ads had the lowest accidental click rate, at 0.88% ![smartphones-blog-post-logo.png](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog_Media/Blog%20photos/smartphones-blog-post-logo.png?width=640&name=smartphones-blog-post-logo.png) *Want more data-driven insights? Sign up for our blog! * ### Search Blog Search ### Follow Pixalate ### Subscribe to our blog *By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) Previous Story [← Pixalate Week in Review: July 31 - August 4, 2017](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-august-4-2017) [** ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog) Next Story [Pixalate Week in Review: August 7 - 11, 2017 →](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/programmatic-ad-fraud-news-week-in-review-august-11-2017) ## You May Also Like These Stories on Thought Leadership [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Q%26A%20with%20Krush%20Media%20-%20cover.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/krush-media-qa) [Case Studies](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/case-studies) ### [Q&A with Steven Slaughter, Head of Ad Ops & Yield at Krush Media, on managing a clean CTV and Mobile Ad Supply Chain](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/krush-media-qa) Jun 27, 2023 12:00:00 PM | 4 min read [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Q%26A%20with%20Screencore%20-%20cover.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/screencore-qa) [Case Studies](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/case-studies) ### [Q&A with Jess Okan, Co-founder and CEO of Screencore, on strategies for minimizing ad fraud in the connected TV ecosystem](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/screencore-qa) May 30, 2023 7:00:00 AM | 6 min read [![](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/Oleksandra%20Kazantseva.png) ](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/bizzclick-qa) [Case Studies](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/topic/case-studies) ### [Q&A with Oleksandra Kazantseva, Head of Programmatic at BizzClick, on transparency, trust, and security](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/bizzclick-qa) Apr 17, 2023 2:00:00 PM | 4 min read ** ### Subscribe to our blog *By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use ](https://www.pixalate.com/terms)and [Privacy Policy.](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) ![pixalate-logo-red-small](https://www.pixalate.com/hs-fs/hubfs/2018NewTemplate/pixalate-logo-red-small.png?width=208&name=pixalate-logo-red-small.png "pixalate-logo-red-small") ** By entering your email address and clicking Subscribe, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) and [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) Products [Analytics](https://www.pixalate.com/products/analytics) [Blocking](https://www.pixalate.com/products/blocking) [Media Rating Terminal](https://www.pixalate.com/products/mrt) [Publisher Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [Seller Trust Indexes](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=publisherTrustIndex) [IoT Device Rankings](https://www.pixalate.com/rankings/?group=app&reportId=iotDeviceReach) Resources [Blog](https://blog.pixalate.com/) [Press](https://www.pixalate.com/press) [Careers](https://www.pixalate.com/jobs) [Team](https://info.pixalate.com/pixalate-leadership-team) Contact Email [** sales@pixalate.com ](mailto:sales@pixalate.com) [** privacy@pixalate.com ](mailto:privacy@pixalate.com) US: [** +1 888 749 2528 ](tel:+1%20888%20749%202528) EU: [** +44 (0)800 011 2050 ](tel:+44%20(0)800%20011%202050) Slack: [Join ATSAPI Slack Channel ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email) Offices Global Offices US 1775 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 425, McLean, VA 22102 UK 20 North Audley Street London, W1K 6WE, United Kingdom EU 10 Earlsfort Terrace Dublin 2, D02 T380, Ireland Singapore 10 Anson Road, #22-02 International Plaza, Singapore 079903 [![facebook](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/facebook.png) ](https://www.facebook.com/pixalate) [![x](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/twitter-x.png) ](https://twitter.com/pixalateinc) [![linkedin](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/linkedin.png) ](https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixalate) ![wechat](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/wechat.png) [![slack](https://www.pixalate.com/hubfs/footer/icons/slack.png) ](https://atsapi-pixalate.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-10dtow5cj-OEtlNr5yzJkrZMQUqcEEow#/shared-invite/email) [Terms of Use](https://www.pixalate.com/terms) [Privacy Policy](https://www.pixalate.com/privacypolicy) [GDPR Compliance](https://www.pixalate.com/gdpr) Disclaimer Copyright © 2025 Pixalate [Back to top **](https://www.pixalate.com/blog/accidental-clicks-mobile-ads-data#) # Disclaimer Disclaimer: The content of this page reflects Pixalate’s opinions with respect to the factors that Pixalate believes can be useful to the digital media industry. Any proprietary data shared is grounded in Pixalate’s proprietary technology and analytics, which Pixalate is continuously evaluating and updating. Any references to outside sources should not be construed as endorsements. Pixalate’s opinions are just that - opinion, not facts or guarantees. Per the MRC, “'Fraud' is not intended to represent fraud as defined in various laws, statutes and ordinances or as conventionally used in U.S. Court or other legal proceedings, but rather a custom definition strictly for advertising measurement purposes. Also per the MRC, “‘Invalid Traffic’ is defined generally as traffic that does not meet certain ad serving quality or completeness criteria, or otherwise does not represent legitimate ad traffic that should be included in measurement counts. 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