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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.
It's way too early in the morning for me to exert this much brainpower trying to decipher such a poorly worded summary.
The summary. Posted to slashdot's front page. Added quietly by an admin. Which then asks for your time to parse it. You'd be hard pressed to come up with a more comically villainous thing for a news site, or an admin, to pull on its users.
He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
If you imagine it is being read by William Shatner it makes complete sense.
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!
It seems more likely to me that HTC made a mistake in underestimating the pushback than in releasing the software.
I am aware of where Android app revenue comes from. I also believe that basic functionality should not require ads without a prior agreement, and that ads should appear only in the apps that place them. The Android apps I use tend not to push ads on me, since I either pay for them or are conveniences for services I do pay for (like the Kindle app).
"When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
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..)
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.