I use LineageOS with F-droid without GAPPS... missing some things, but overall very happy. The worst thing is probably how bad the search feature is in OsmAnd.
Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
141–150 of 165 posts
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#142Earlier quoted context omitted.
I imagine it would be easy to add a search filter for ads or no ads, but they don't.
Are there any third party search interfaces? Seems like it would be pretty easy to add automatic checking for ads.
Yes, Aurora Store provides a filter for this. https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.aurora.store/
And someone else mentioned https://playsearch.kaki87.net/
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#143Earlier quoted context omitted.
My simpler explanation is that putting "no ads" in title is meaningless and without proof and on its own unenforceable. As a consumer, honestly, as much as I want to rant against big companies and for small developers - yeah, I'm with Google on this one. Putting random unverified claims in title is bad. (concordantly, I fully support making "no ads" actual metadata searchable/filterable, as well as "Supports Controll…
Your point is not specific for ads and completely ignores the dynamics of reviews. Your app will immediately receive a ton of 1 star reviews for misleading the users.
Which is relevant for trustworthy stable apps.
I found it's irrelevant for fly-by-night actually fraudulent apps which are just going to redeploy with slightly different name tomorrow.
(our experienced, mileages, and assumptions/preferences may wary :)
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#144Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
The gmail app has ads? Where?
The only "ads" I see in gmail is the metric tonne of spam I receive every day, and I can't really blame Google for that.
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#145I 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…
My simpler explanation is that putting "no ads" in title is meaningless and without proof and on its own unenforceable. As a consumer, honestly, as much as I want to rant against big companies and for small developers - yeah, I'm with Google on this one. Putting random unverified claims in title is bad. (concordantly, I fully support making "no ads" actual metadata searchable/filterable, as well as "Supports Controll…
It's worse than just meaningless, it's actively trying to get a bullshit SEO advantage, which is essentially zero-sum at best and makes things worse for users.
If my app is named "CoolBrowser", the title on Google Play should not be "Better Browser than Chrome". If my app is named "SketchyVPN", the title on Google Play should not be "Netflix Region Locking Bypasser".
At best, these are workarounds for the Play store's shitty lack of searchable metadata (why can't I filter out apps that aren't open source?), at worse they're Nigerian prince style scams that suck in unknowledgable users.
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#146The Play Store already has a "Contains Ads" label for apps with ads. Preventing users from searching/filtering with this label is consumer-hostile.
Here are a couple of third-party workarounds:
- KPlaySearch (https://playsearch.kaki87.net) lets you search the Play Store and optionally filter by whether the app is free of ads and/or in-app purchases. Source code: https://git.kaki87.net/KaKi87/KPlaySearch
- Aurora Store (https://auroraoss.com/download/AuroraStore/) is an alternative Play Store client that works without a Google account and without Google Play Services. Its app search allows filtering by whether the app is ad-free and/or dependent on Google Play Services. Source code: https://gitlab.com/AuroraOSS/AuroraStore
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#147Earlier 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.
The ability to use your regulatory obligations in your marketing materials and spin them as a positive is the carrot for companies to enthusiastically comply.
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#148Earlier quoted context omitted.
What apps are you referring to? Gmail and GMaps, the only ones I use regularly, do have ads.
The gmail app has ads? Where? The only "ads" I see in gmail is the metric tonne of spam I receive every day, and I can't really blame Google for that.
Maybe they tried them and reverted, I do not see them right now.
But I've seen that previously: https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=android+gmail+ads&ia=images...
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#149Earlier quoted context omitted.
What apps are you referring to? Gmail and GMaps, the only ones I use regularly, do have ads.
The gmail app has ads? Where? The only "ads" I see in gmail is the metric tonne of spam I receive every day, and I can't really blame Google for that.
Sure, has been like that for a very long time: Gmail sorts your emails into "General, Social Networks, Ads and Notifications". Only on the ads inbox, Google shows you ads.
Re: Tell HN: You can't add “no ads” in your Play Store app's title
#150Earlier quoted context omitted.
My simpler explanation is that putting "no ads" in title is meaningless and without proof and on its own unenforceable. As a consumer, honestly, as much as I want to rant against big companies and for small developers - yeah, I'm with Google on this one. Putting random unverified claims in title is bad. (concordantly, I fully support making "no ads" actual metadata searchable/filterable, as well as "Supports Controll…
It's worse than just meaningless, it's actively trying to get a bullshit SEO advantage, which is essentially zero-sum at best and makes things worse for users. If my app is named "CoolBrowser", the title on Google Play should not be "Better Browser than Chrome". If my app is named "SketchyVPN", the title on Google Play should not be "Netflix Region Locking Bypasser". At best, these are workarounds for the Play store'…
It's because Play Store puts a lot of weight on title and very little in the short or long descriptions. For a company that is reputed to be the best in search, Play Store has terrible search policies.
Look up "bypass netflix" and guess what pops up. Unfortunately it's the only way to SEO in the Play Store. The impact is so strong that I avoid branding now, it makes more sense to register your VPN company as "Region Locking Bypasser".