Testing loading time for a playable creative

A playable that takes too long to become usable can lose a viewer before its idea appears. Measure time to first visible instruction and time to first responsive action, not just the file size an export tool reports.

For each run, start a timestamped screen recording when the playable is launched. Mark the first frame where the instruction is visible and the first frame where the playable responds to input, then record both elapsed times separately.

Use representative phones, network conditions and placements. Run each test under a defined device and network throttling preset, and clear caches between cold-load tests. Try a repeat view separately.

Watch for blank screens, delayed controls, stutter and a call to action that appears before the interaction is ready. Test muted audio and orientation changes.

Check that the creative scales automatically to the device screen, stays compatible through orientation changes, plays without slow or stuttering performance and produces no console log errors. Confirm sound remains off before interaction and respects the device mute switch.

Keep the same start and finish points for every test so results are comparable. A package below a platform's upload limit can still feel slow because scripts or assets initialise late.

Google Ads Help's “About HTML5/Playable ads for App campaigns” specifies a maximum 5 MB ZIP with no more than 512 files, and allows up to 20 ZIP files per ad group. Its “Fix issues with HTML5 assets for App campaigns” page says interstitial assets at 320x480 and 480x320 can be up to 5.2 MB, while Unity Grow's “Creative moderation checks” specifies an initial file size under 6 MB. These are upload or moderation limits, not load-time acceptance thresholds.

For each placement, device and network condition, set a maximum acceptable elapsed time for both milestones before testing. Accept only if each cold-load run and the separate repeat view stays within those limits; otherwise investigate and retest.

If loading fails, inspect the creative and allowed asset references before assuming the media network is at fault. Google Ads Help's “Fix issues with HTML5 assets for App campaigns” lists unsupported file types and unsupported characters in file or folder names as upload issues.

Unity Grow's “Creative moderation checks” warns against improper external requests, such as extensive data usage. The checks also cover scaling to the device screen, compatibility with orientation changes, slow or stuttering performance, console log errors and the device mute switch.

Check the delivered creative after upload, and keep a fallback asset for devices or inventory where the interaction cannot run reliably. Before accepting the load time, confirm that the loaded interaction matches the product.

Key Loading Time Metrics for Playable Creatives

File Size Limits Across Platforms and Guidelines