What is click injection?

Click injection is a sophisticated form of click-spamming where fraudsters publish or access an Android app that allows them to detect install broadcasts and then trigger clicks before the installation is completed, giving the fraudster credit for the installation. 

Broadcasts are signals sent from an Android app when an event of interest occurs. For example, the Android system sends broadcasts when certain system events occur, such as when the system boots up or the device starts charging. Apps can also send custom broadcasts, for example, to notify other apps of something that they might be interested in. For example, some new data has been downloaded.

Without sufficient fraud prevention tools, click injection fraudsters can use a junk app to hijack a device at the right time (and with the right information) to create a fake ad click that appears to be legitimate, resulting in CPI payouts.