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HTC Keyboard Ads Likely an Error, But Damage is Already Done (androidcentral.com)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Ads in the stock keyboard app on a flagship smartphone added quietly via an app update, which then asks you to pay to remove them. You'd be hard pressed to come up with a more comically villainous thing for a phone manufacturer, or app developer, to pull on its users. Yet that's what's been happening to some HTC phone owners over the past day. HTC 10 owners seem to be worst affected (we're not seeing it on the newer U11 for what it's worth), with the ad bar taking up a good chunk of screen real estate. There's understandable outrage among HTC owners whose phones have started coughing up ads every time they open the keyboard. The consensus, obviously, is that this is not an OK place for ads to be appearing. In a statement, HTC said it was an error, and a fix is underway.
Systemd.
...said every HTC phone owner, ever.
It's way too early in the morning for me to exert this much brainpower trying to decipher such a poorly worded summary.
Better known as 318230.
It's not like you can just 'accidentally' code the framework which would support the ads to be played in the first place.
Obvious flamebait, but the amount of advertising on the Android handset I owned got to be so overwhelming that it was one of the major reasons I am back to iPhone, after having given it up hoping for a more open and functional platform. Turned out, it wasn't.
"HTC said it was an error, and a fix is underway" - With bullshit lines like that spewing forth every other day, is it any wonder people are fed up with the status quo?
Sure. Implementing all the code to display ads within the keyboard app just happened because the cat ran over the keyboard.
Oh, you mean it was an error that this crap got rolled out? Thanks for informing me about how the future looks like for HTC customers, then.
I used to love HTC products, now i avoid them.
Ads don't magically appear by dint of the universe being against us (although, the universe is against us). In order for those ads to appear, some poor developer had to be given the task of adding that feature. Then some other poor fools had to test it and qualify it across multiple hardware platforms. Then it had to get bundled into the software update, and then pushed out to users.
My point is, there were many, many very intentional acts required for this to occur, and almost none of which could conceivably have been an accident or "error". This ass-hattery must be roundly called out and ridiculed. Probably there isn't any legal action indicated, but it might be nice for someone to try.
Oops, my finger slipped and accidentally all this code to display ads in a rectangular bounding box and get ads from ad servers and a working payment system that allows removing them!
Any company that pulls this type of crap should quickly dive into bankruptcy as it loses customers*
The reality is that most customers won't care.
* Note: this was deliberate. As others have pointed out, you don't accidentally put ads into an app. Also, why wasn't it pulled immediately? This was a deliberate attempt to test the reaction to ads in the keyboard app.
The real "Libtards" are the Libertarians!
THAT, friends, is why you root the shit out of Android and then use an app like AdAway, which uses the /etc/hosts file to block ads, which is why root is required. I tried other adblockers that didnt use the hosts file and none worked worth a damn.. Before I rooted my phone, it was endless ads in EVERYthing, and of course, this crap was eating up my data like mad, for which I pay for what I use (am on Ting.com). Once I rooted and installed AdAway, no more ads, and my data consumption went down signifcantly...
THANK YOU, Edward Snowden!! Americans owe you a debt of gratitude (whether they know it or not..)
Comment removed based on user account deletion
Funny.
I have no ads anywhere other than in browser on sites that have them. Maybe it is because I choose decent apps and pay for them. Instead of downloading every piece of shit freeware on the face of the planet and then complaining about it.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
On Samsung phones, you can leverage Knox to get device administration without root. Adhell notably uses Knox and in addition to ad-blocking, it also allows freezing of preinstalled crapware.
All of that said, obtrusive ads should be subject to similar laws as the "do no call" list. A $500 fine for each infraction of a "do not advertise" list would go a long way.
It seems to be only in the USA that you have those stupid contracts.
I on a SIM only deal and pay $15/month. The contract is a rolling one month, not two years and I can use any phone I want. I buy my phones from Pawn Brokers. They are nearly always unlocked but the carrier has to unlock it when asked.
I don't know anyone who still uses a 2yr carrier contract.
I'd rather be riding my '63 Triumph T120.
THAT, friends, is why you root the shit out of Android and then use an app like AdAway, which uses the /etc/hosts file to block ads, which is why root is required. I tried other adblockers that didnt use the hosts file and none worked worth a damn.. Before I rooted my phone, it was endless ads in EVERYthing, and of course, this crap was eating up my data like mad, for which I pay for what I use (am on Ting.com). Once I rooted and installed AdAway, no more ads, and my data consumption went down signifcantly...
The problem with this is you lose access to a ton of apps that rely on "SafetyNet". Everything from Pokemon GO to AndroidPay to SnapChat uses SafetyNet and will refuse to run if it can detect that your system image has been modified or if it can detect that you have root access. (In SnapChat's case it only does this when you want to log in, so you can disable root, log in, then root again.) More and more apps are using SafetyNet, and it's fucking awful. It's a cat and mouse game to get root and still pass SafetyNet.
APK is that you?
Except the plan is really expensive if you don't actively manage data usage (or would be for me at least).
Wow, sent an e-mail as suggested when clicking on "use classic" banner, and got a fast response that addressed my msg
The difference is a lot lower at the higher end. My partner has just replaced her ageing Nokia 1020 (really nice phone and the hardware is still pretty solid, but Windows Mobile 8.1 doesn't get security updates and has almost no third-party apps) with a second-hand Samsung. A similar iPhone is only 20-30% more expensive, but the killer is the lack of third-party OS support. When an iPhone stops getting security updates, it's basically dead. When a moderately popular Android device stops getting security updates, you can install LineageOS on it and it remains useable (my first-gen Moto G is older than her Nokia and a lot slower, but it's still getting fortnightly updates from LineageOS and I expect to keep using it until it physically dies).
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Right, meanwhile, Apple won't even let you use a real adblocker because of their locked in Safari browser and you're forced to deal with hell from websites that abuse the crap out of it. Granted it's not as bad as a locked-in Android phone, but it's still quite annoying.
I'll stick to my rooted phones where I can remove all the ads, remove the malware and actually have a real firewall on my phone. Also, I like being able to stream music from youtube with the screen off, where a locked Iphone or locked Android phone cannot do unless you root/jailbreak.
If and when Google wants to go to the Iphone model with their recent Android lockin BS and spying, I'll just go back to a dumb phone. I still have my old Nokia phone that can keep a charge for over a week and works great.
Because I am capable of making my own decision of what I do and do not want on my phone. I do not need a dead fag with a turtle neck to tell me what I want in a phone.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?