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Latest Update to ES File Explorer Android App Brings Adware To Your Lockscreen (xda-developers.com)
An anonymous reader writes: ES File Explorer (Google Play link) is one of the handiest file manager apps in the post-Android Gingerbread era, and it continues to ride up on its popularity (Editor's note: Google Play listing suggests the app has been downloaded between 100,000,000 and 500,000,000 times) and functionality. Recent changes to ES File Explorer, however, are signalling its decline. The newest update might just be the last straw that breaks the camels back, as ES File Explorer now bundles in adware. This adware comes in the form of DU Battery Booster, which adds in a lockscreen on your phone and brings ads directly to your lockscreen, irrespective of your choice. There was no intimation, no choice, no changelog to mention the same; all features which are characteristic of such deceptive "Booster" apps.Plenty of users have taken it to the Google Play listing of the aforementioned app to express their grievances. "This software is getting some major bloat with a lot of features that has very little to do with file browsing in general, so going to look elsewhere for a simple file explorer without all the 'extras'," a user wrote.
This is a wonderful app. I push files around my home network using the ssh integration etc. Your comment motivated me to "go pro". I've been using the app for years and it never even occurred to me to buy it. For 2.99USD, it's really a pittance and the developers deserve a little compensation for a job well done. Thanks for motivating me.
Oh yes, they *did* something right: their app, right before all these "free updates to boost your system plz gib gib". You're telling "4.8 stars", I tell you "4.8 stars based on their previous versions".
I would not have cared if they decided to make it a paid app; I have a handful of these when they feel polished enough. I even paid for a basic SMS app that was just a "downgrade" for the recent stuff google pulled on that.
But the thing here is that they are shoddy. Consumers trust is hard to gain, and when you lose it, it's done. When you have arguably one of the best app on the market that does a lot of things well, there's one thing you don't do: start behaving like it's a chinese ripoff that exist only as an ad channel. On the point of ES File Explorer: one day, out of the blue, my phone had a notification about "removing trash to boost the performances", or something along the line. It sort of looked like a classic spam message, with no indication that this was from an app. And if dismissed, it comes back quickly. That was ES; and there was no option to disable it. Then, this "extremely useful feature" became the default screen when you open the app, prominently taking a third of the screen to encourage you to use what have all the warnings you're looking for when you look at a scam.
And now, the very same team decided to force-feed you a new lockscreen, with implications that goes well beyond the "showing ad" issue. Android might not be the most secure thing on earth, but I have slightly more trust in the stock lockscreen than in the one provided by some definitely shoddy business.
Seriously, now I've removed all of their apps, found very good replacements that don't do anything funky, even paid for one, and all is well. But I can't understand how you can think "hey, let's force spam and bloatware down people's phones, THEN make a paid version without that" when you could have just done it harmlessly.
They could make the best app ever now, I'm never trusting them again with anything.