Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Google Bans Apps From Displaying Lock Screen Ads (androidpolice.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the cease-and-desist dept.

Google is banning lock screen ads from the Play Store. In the new section on Google's developer monetization page, Google says: "Unless the exclusive purpose of the app is that of a lock screen, apps may not introduce ads or features that monetize the locked display of a device." Android Police reports: So, an app that bills itself as a photo editor, VPN, or file explorer cannot also cram a new lock screen on your device that's infested with ads. However, an app that is actually a lock screen can still monetize with ads. Presumably, you know what you're getting when you install a lock screen app. This policy change is long overdue. It's been a few years since these ads started showing up, and it's getting pretty out of hand.

6 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. AdGuard by DatbeDank · · Score: 2

    I have a phone that's not possible to be rooted and i've been using the paid version of this app to block all of the ads.

    Until unlimited data plans become cheap and affordable AND malware ceases to be a vector from online ads, I will always block ads on principle and pay for my services I want to be ad-free.

    1. Re:AdGuard by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Informative

      Until unlimited data plans become cheap and affordable AND malware ceases to be a vector from online ads

      Wow, talk about low on the list of reasons to block adverts. Let's add some:
      AND battery life isn't affected
      AND web pages / apps don't take forever to load.
      AND the device ceases interrupting me to view an advert (video ads are instant grounds for uninstalling apps)
      AND the ads stop taking up most of the content space
      AND ....

      Common people, chime in. I'm sure we can make this thread go on for ever. Forget malware and bandwidth. Ads are a blight on the entire mobile world right now.

  2. Re:This was a thing? by interkin3tic · · Score: 5, Informative

    Amazon sells fire tablets running amazon ads on the lockcreens. They sell them for cheaper than the non-ad versions.

    Presumably people put up with it for the same reason they put up with the far more annoying ads interrupting TV shows: they're used to it.

  3. Re:google should go one step better by freeze128 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What is the incentive for an advertising company (Google) to block ads?

  4. Re:This was a thing? by The+Good+Reverend · · Score: 2

    Oh, I'm fine with ads in games or other apps that I use but aren't worth paying for. But that's only while I'm using the app. Having them fill up your lockscreen with no way to remove them is a step too far.

  5. I am extremely annoyed by those ads by blind+biker · · Score: 2

    So much so, that as soon as I discover that an app uses the lock screen ads, I remove it immediately and make a mental note of that app.

    So, I find this move by Google to be unreservedly positive.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.