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Google Finally Bans Apps that Include Shady Lock Screen Ads from the Play Store

posted by martyb on Thursday December 07 2017, @11:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the ad-vanced-protection dept.

Fnord666 writes:

Ads are just a fact of life in mobile apps. You can't completely avoid them, but there are some ad implementations that are so annoying that Google has explicitly disallowed them from the Play Store. Remember Airpush? The current advertising scourge is ad-infused lock screens, which have shown up in previously safe apps like ES File Explorer, Peel, and Hotspot Shield VPN. Google has finally listened to our pleading, and lock screen ads are no longer allowed in the Play Store.

Technically, the new policy is a bit more nuanced than "no ads on the lock screen." Here's the new section on Google's developer monetization page.

Lockscreen Monetization

Unless the exclusive purpose of the app is that of a lockscreen, apps may not introduce ads or features that monetize the locked display of a device.

So, an app that bills itself as a photo editor, VPN, or file explorer cannot also cram a new lock screen on your device that's infested with ads. However, an app that is actually a lock screen can still monetize with ads. Presumably, you know what you're getting when you install a lock screen app.

Source: http://www.androidpolice.com/2017/11/30/google-finally-bans-apps-include-shady-lock-screen-ads/

Original Submission

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by WizardFusion on Thursday December 07 2017, @12:01PM (4 children)

    by WizardFusion (498) on Thursday December 07 2017, @12:01PM (#606773) Journal

    Ads are just a fact of life in mobile apps. You can't completely avoid them

    I don't see any ads on my phone.

    I use NoRootFirewall [google.com] to block most applications from accessing the internet.
    Those that do need internet access, I use rules to block the most common ad domains.

    Not seen a advert for quite a while.

    Starting Score:    1  point
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  • (Score: 2) by fishybell on Thursday December 07 2017, @04:47PM (3 children)

    by fishybell (3156) on Thursday December 07 2017, @04:47PM (#606860)

    And the cat and mouse game continues.

    I've had several apps that would update to a new version, still with no permissions for the internet, that suddenly have ads. I noticed that these apps would balloon in size from a megabyte or two to 20 to 30. They were essentially full of pre-downloaded ads. Sneaky bastards got a wee nod, then deletion.

    • (Score: 2) by WizardFusion on Thursday December 07 2017, @05:22PM (2 children)

      by WizardFusion (498) on Thursday December 07 2017, @05:22PM (#606877) Journal

      As Wootery says below, you also have to stop using shitty apps.

      • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Thursday December 07 2017, @06:14PM

        by Freeman (732) on Thursday December 07 2017, @06:14PM (#606913) Journal

        Which include, pretty much all "free to play" games.

        --
        Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"

      • (Score: 1, Troll) by Arik on Thursday December 07 2017, @09:02PM

        by Arik (4543) on Thursday December 07 2017, @09:02PM (#606986) Journal
        "shitty apps."

        You're repeating yourself.
        --
        If laughter is the best medicine, who are the best doctors?