Chrome’s built-in anti-fraud system (Safe Browsing) has started mass-blocking PWA pre-landing pages designed to look like Google Play and the App Store. When users click through from an ad, they see a «Deceptive site ahead» warning about data theft and immediately close the tab. The traffic never reaches the casino page, while the campaign in Facebook Ads or TikTok continues spending the budget.
What triggers the red screen
Google’s anti-fraud system checks the site when it loads and compares page elements with the official store:
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Google Play elements. Bots detect marketplace logos, rating badges, labels such as «Editors’ Choice», counters showing 100,000+ downloads, and the green install button using the Roboto font.
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Fake reviews. Comment blocks on pre-landing pages are usually identical: avatars, names, ratings, and «Was this review helpful?» buttons. The system detects these templates and marks the site as deceptive.
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Code from PWA rental services. Most builders use the same markup and style names. If several domains from one service have already been banned, the filter blocks new sites using the same engine much faster.
How PWA funnels are being built now
To keep a site from being banned within the first hours of running traffic, media buyers are changing their approach to pre-landing pages:
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They remove store-style design. Google Play logos, rating badges, fake reviews, and system-style buttons are completely removed from the page.
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They create interactive pre-landing pages. Instead of a static store page, they show a mini-game: a wheel of fortune, opening chests, or a demo slot. The user spins the wheel, gets a bonus, and clicks the «Claim» button to proceed to the game.
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They suggest saving the shortcut later. The prompt to add an icon to the smartphone home screen is shown not immediately when the page opens, but after the user clicks the bonus button or makes the first spin.
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They make the code unique. Pages are built from scratch or the styles and code structure from builders are rewritten so that the pre-landing page does not resemble banned domains.
Under these conditions, working with PWA applications has become much more difficult. To avoid wasting the budget on empty clicks and losing domains within the first hours of ad delivery, media buyers have to completely abandon the familiar store-style design, clean up the code, and redirect traffic to interactive pages focused on bonuses and slots.
