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Creator of Top iOS Ad Blocker Pulls App After Two Days
An anonymous reader writes: One of the most important aspects of the iOS 9 launch was that ad blocking software is now allowed on the App Store. Ad blocking apps rocketed to the top of the store's rankings, led by Marco Arment's Peace. A day afterward, Arment talked about the cognitive dissonance he felt from having his software blocking the (admittedly well-behaving) ads on his own website. Now, Arment has pulled Peace from the App Store, saying its success "just doesn't feel good." He continues, "Ad blockers come with an important asterisk: while they do benefit a ton of people in major ways, they also hurt some, including many who don't deserve the hit. Peace required that all ads be treated the same — all-or-nothing enforcement for decisions that aren't black and white. This approach is too blunt, and Ghostery and I have both decided that it doesn't serve our goals or beliefs well enough. If we're going to effect positive change overall, a more nuanced, complex approach is required than what I can bring in a simple iOS app."
Arment also posted a link with detailed instructions on how to get a refund, if you already bought the app.
Just find the apk and side-load i--- oh wait.
Whelp - enjoy your walled garden.
Marco Arment is (almost certainly) already set for life after Yahoo bought out Tumblr awhile back, since he was the #2 employee/lead developer at Tumblr for a number of years and had been granted a LOT of stock in it, which likely became worth millions following the sale. He's had decent success since then as well with Instapaper (a very successful iOS app which didn't feel like developing any more and sold off), The Magazine (which was at the time a slightly profitable Newstand app for iOS which looked to be on the decline so he sold off), and now Overcast (a very successful iOS podcast client which he hasn't sold off (yet)). All of which is to say, it's doubtful it's about a check getting written.
He's been doing a lot of public hand-wringing over this topic in podcasts and on his blog prior to the release of iOS 9, since most of his income right now is from his podcasts and his blog, both of which are supported by ads. Even so, he definitely doesn't stand beside the tracking and other practices that advertisers are engaging in these days, which is why the ads he serves don't use them. Likewise, most of the folks in his corner of the blogosphere use ads from the same ad network (The Deck), which doesn't use tracking scripts, so he's been taking flak from his friends (e.g. John Gruber of Daring Fireball) for developing a tool that hurts all of them.