SoylentNews

Rosco P. Coltrane [soylentnews.org] writes:

If you use any Simple Mobile Tools [simplemobiletools.com] Android app (Simple Draw Pro [f-droid.org], Simple Music Player [f-droid.org], Simple Dialer [f-droid.org], Simple SMS Messenger [f-droid.org], Simple Voice Recorder [f-droid.org], Simple Flashlight [f-droid.org], Simple App Launcher [f-droid.org], Simple Clock [f-droid.org], Simple Launcher [f-droid.org], Simple Camera [f-droid.org] or Simple Calendar Pro [f-droid.org]), you might want to consider uninstall it - particularly if you've installed it from the Google Play Store rather than from F-Droid.

The author, Tibor Kaputa [github.com] has sold Simple Mobile Tools apps [github.com] to well-know Israeli advertisement company ZipoApps [zipoapps.com]. If you don't like ads or you fear ad-borne malware, Simple Mobile Tools apps aren't for your anymore.

Most users of the apps and contributors are dismayed. You can follow the Reddit threads dedicated to the issue here [reddit.com] and here [reddit.com] if you want to find ads-free open-source alternative apps. Of course, F-Droid builds will start flagging Simple Mobile Tools with the ads [f-droid.org] anti-feature flag - if the tools aren't dropped altogether - but the safest action if you rely on them is to disable updating the apps altogether, to keep the last independent versions installed.

It's a sad day for the open-source Android ecosystem, as Simple Mobile Tools apps are well-regarded and part of many people's everyday lives. Hopefully they will be forked and development will continue on the forked versions.

Thanks Tibor for your great work over the years. Too bad that you couldn't find any other way to cash out.

Original Submission