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Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

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Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#111

Post by webmaven »

fer wrote: post #12
coolgoose wrote: post #9

I always wondered why all these stores are so fucking awful to filter. Is it calculated ?

Yes. I often find Play "hides" deep in the results apps that I had previously bought, even typing their exact name, in hopes I choose another (always paid or with ads) above them.

> Yes. I often find Play "hides" deep in the results apps that I had previously bought, even typing their exact name, in hopes I choose another (always paid or with ads) above them.

Previously installed apps and games used to be listed under the 'Library' portion of your user profile, now you can find them under 'Manage Apps and Device > Manage > Not Installed'.

Of those path segments, the first is a menu option, the second is a tab, and the third is a drop-down. It is almost as if Google doesn't want the user to find it, while making it technically available.

Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#113

Post by tyingq »

drusepth wrote: post #98
megatoaster wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Searching 'no ads' seemingly won't query that tag, seemingly.

Seems pretty trivial to eventually add, compared to trying to enforce correctness on results from user-provided tags in titles. I'm a little surprised you can't search for "no ads" apps outside of e.g. Pass listings, but I'm really glad they're not defaulting to just a title text search and cluttered listings of Farming Simulator [NO ADS] [NO IAPS] [NO REFERRALS] [NO TIMEWAITS] [NO DLC].

It's not searchable for a reason. Ad free apps don't generate revenue for Google. So devs added it to the title. Google is now closing that loophole.

Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#114

Post by NikolaNovak »

Honestly I'm OK with that.

Title doesn't actually GUARANTEE there are actually no ads. I would rather train people to look for actual authoritative answer.

(I also personally hate when games try to put attributes in title, it just makes the entire search list meaningless)

Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#117

Post by AnthonyMouse »

drusepth wrote: post #99
lillecarl wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It doesn't work like that when you're one of two players in the segment, that's what antitrust is about. "It's their platform" would work well if there were any significant alternatives, which there aren't.

There are many popular app stores on Android and you're free to use any of them (or none of them, if you just download apps directly from websites) without rooting your phone, jailbreaking, etc. A recent list of someone's favorites: https://42matters.com/blog/?p=the-best-of-2020-a-list-of-app...

Apple and Google together have 95% market share.

From the perspective of an Android user, a lot of the alternatives are interesting. Especially F-Droid.

From the perspective of the app developer, it doesn't work. You use Apple and Google or you lose 95% of the market.

And the same constraint keeps it that way. You lose most of the Android market if you're not in Google Play, so nearly everything that isn't explicitly banned can be found in Google Play, so most users have no occasion to install any other app store and the friction to developers using another one to the exclusion of Google Play remains high.

Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#118

Post by motohagiography »

Very good to know! I had been mulling an app company that did privacy centric paid variations on popular free* apps, but it depended on being able to market them as being ad and surveillance free.

However, if this policy precludes that, it does seem a bit anti-competitive.

Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#119

Post by warkdarrior »

mdp2021 wrote: post #104
ChuckMcM wrote: post #83

I suspect this is to foreclose against a future option for Google to monetize ‘free’ content in the play store without compensating the developers much as they do people’s videos on Youtube. For those who aren’t aware, in the games industry the distributor has been in the role of adding DRM to games on the pretense that they are “protecting their interests and channels”. As the distributor, Google may feel empowered…

> the distributor has been in the role of adding That would cause (relative) avoidance of the distributors - and in the case of APK, any site could be a distributor.

You are underestimating the prevalence and reach of centralized app stores. Consumers could side-load, but the vast majority will not, and that's where the money is.

Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title

#120

Post by otterley »

duffyjp wrote: post #76
otterley wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Another textbook example is the language describing meat as coming from pork with “no hormones added” even though it’s unlawful to add hormones to pork grown for human consumption. Sure, it’s a fact; but the choice to include it is made to provide a marketing boost over competing brands that might not have the language on the packaging.

Wow, that's incredibly dishonest to consumers! My turkey states "no hormones added," I assume that's also unlawful like pork? It should be illegal to advertise you're not doing something that is illegal in the first place if the intent is to imply others are in fact doing it.

Correct, both pork and poultry.
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