Ads mode: Managed, Read only, Watch only & seasonal pauses
Choose active management, data-only reporting, or a spend pause for each app, and understand what happens when you restart.
ManagedAdsBuddy keeps campaign tracking active, proposes or applies fixes, and watches spend against the checkpoint.
Watch onlyAdsBuddy pauses ad spend, keeps reading revenue, and waits for season or performance to justify a restart.
Read onlyCampaigns stay exactly as they are. AdsBuddy syncs and reports data, but does not recommend or write changes.
RestartRestarting does not blindly resume old ads. It creates a fresh plan from the data available now.
What the modes mean
Each app has an ads mode. This controls how much AdsBuddy should do for that app today. It does not delete history, disconnect integrations, or hide the app.
Managed — the normal mode for an app you want AdsBuddy to run. The app has campaign tracking, a budget, daily checks, checkpoints, fixes, and recommendations.
Read only — campaigns keep their current Apple Ads status and integrations keep syncing. AdsBuddy shows metrics, but suppresses recommendations, auto-pilot, plan changes and every Apple Ads write until you return to Managed mode.
Watch only — the safe mode for an app you do not want spending right now. AdsBuddy keeps syncing RevenueCat and Apple Ads, but it does not try to keep campaigns active.
Where you see mode recommendations
The Dashboard can show an Ads mode changes section when AdsBuddy thinks an app should pause, watch, or restart. These are not urgent fix alerts. They are spend decisions based on season, recent revenue, recent ad performance, and your history.
You can set the app's best season yourself in My apps → your app → Settings → Best season. AdsBuddy uses those months before inferred history when deciding pause/watch/restart recommendations and when building new plans.
If AdsBuddy recommends Pause & watch, it explains the reason and the re-check date.
If you accept, AdsBuddy pauses the relevant Apple Ads spend and moves the app to Watch only.
On the re-check date, AdsBuddy reviews the app again and can recommend restarting if the data supports it.
If you ignore it, AdsBuddy leaves the app as-is and stops repeating the same recommendation.
Restarting ads
Restarting an app is intentionally conservative. AdsBuddy does not simply turn every paused campaign back on, because the old setup may no longer match the season, country, keyword economics, or budget you want now.
1Review data
Revenue, seasonality, historic winners, recent organic demand, and previous Apple Ads performance.
2Build plan
Create a fresh plan with the current target countries, budget band, and gate.
3Apply safely
Show the exact campaigns, bids, and budget changes before anything writes to Apple Ads.
Where to change it manually
Open My apps → your app → Settings. The Ads mode control lets you move an app between Managed, Read only, and Watch only. Use Best season on the same page to tell AdsBuddy the months when this app deserves more patience or a stronger push.
How this relates to budget
Ads mode decides whether AdsBuddy should actively run ads or watch. Budget and Target CPA decide how much room the active campaigns get. Example: an app can be Managed with a $15/day test, or Managed with a $95/day faster push when the product is proven and in season.
Good rule of thumb: Managed for apps you are actively investing in; Watch only for apps that are out of season, unprofitable at current prices, or waiting for enough organic demand before a new test.