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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

#121

Post by MereInterest »

jimmaswell wrote: post #69
whimsicalism wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Metadata like file size, whether there are in-app ads or purchases, etc, should be part of the store's listing - not the title. ???? Did I miss the part where Google announced they were adding searchable metadata at the same time they eliminated adding this info to the title? If not, seems like a clearly anti-consumer move.

Listings show whether they have ads, in-app purchases etc. on a separate screen

User time is valuable, and must be respected. Data being present somewhere, in some form, doesn't mean that it is in a form that can be reasonably used. If I want to find an application without ads, requiring me to open every search result and manually check whether there are ads is very anti-consumer.

My opinion here would be different if an alternative search interface existed. However, the Google Play Store's API is focused on developers and doesn't allow for making searches. In addition, the Terms of Service forbid redistribution of content, so a third-party API that scrapes the results would be forbidden. By removing alternatives, Google has taken responsibility for a good user interface (and blame for a bad user interface) onto themselves.

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

#122

Post by btown »

pow_pp_-1_v wrote: post #89
tauntz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would explain why they are trying to convince/coerce/force developers to hand them their signing keys during the last years.

I think the signing keys are required because of features like "play as you download" etc. [Not an Android dev]

As we've seen with the complaints re: AMP [0], Google is incredibly talented at building "it loads faster" features that are primarily a way to give them greater control over monetization in ways that are less than transparent. Requiring signing keys can be both of these things at once.

[0] https://searchengineland.com/google-throttled-amp-page-speed...

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

#124

Post by lostmsu »

londons_explore wrote: post #40
elzbardico wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, we can expect the heat death of the universe before google does something that helps promoting apps that have no ads.

Most of their own apps have no ads... And google doesn't require a share of revenue for mobile ads either. Some users clearly prefer apps without ads, and will have a better user experience without ads. Google makes lots of product design decisions to attempt to improve user experience (even if they fail often). Therefore there isn't a clear incentive to prevent the user finding an app without ads.

What apps are you referring to? Gmail and GMaps, the only ones I use regularly, do have ads.

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

#125

Post by [deleted] »

pow_pp_-1_v wrote: post #89
tauntz wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would explain why they are trying to convince/coerce/force developers to hand them their signing keys during the last years.

I think the signing keys are required because of features like "play as you download" etc. [Not an Android dev]

[deleted]

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

#128

Post by mthoms »

MereInterest wrote: post #121
jimmaswell wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Listings show whether they have ads, in-app purchases etc. on a separate screen

User time is valuable, and must be respected. Data being present somewhere, in some form, doesn't mean that it is in a form that can be reasonably used. If I want to find an application without ads, requiring me to open every search result and manually check whether there are ads is very anti-consumer. My opinion here would be different if an alternative search interface existed. However, the Google Play Store's API…

Would building a Play Store search index that contains metadata and snippets (just like Google itself) be considered "redistributing" that content?

Hasn't Google itself argued that such activities are explicitly not redistribution?

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

#129

Post by buu700 »

tauntz wrote: post #86
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…

That would explain why they are trying to convince/coerce/force developers to hand them their signing keys during the last years.

An alternative explanation is that Google was paid off to facilitate state-sponsored attacks.

I wouldn't go as far as to claim that as fact, but it's nevertheless egregiously bad that Google suddenly wants a mandatory backdoor into every new app.

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

#130

Post by npteljes »

chalst wrote: post #51
npteljes wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The alternative I'd like is making common user expectations into formalized properties of the software, making them visible and searchable. Like how it lists "Offers in-app purchases" currently, it could also list "Ad-free", "Free", etc.

F-Droid does this already with its listing of 'anti-features' for each app.

Yes, and I love it! I'm using LineageOS for the third year now.
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