Sync for Lemmy @lemmy.world kenbw2 @lemmy.world 1 yr. ago

GitHub Feature Request: Paid Ad-Free APK file without AdMob bundled

github.com Paid Ad-Free APK file without AdMob bundled · Issue #250 · laurencedawson/sync-for-lemmy

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. I want to pay for and use Sync without having to accept the AdMob Privacy Policy Describe the solution you'd like Ideally a Pro versio...

I want to pay for and use Sync without having to accept the AdMob Privacy Policy

Ideally a Pro version of the App, but ljdawson has specified that Google Play doesn't allow that

Failing that, an APK on the Releases page of Github where I can download a version which requires verification of paid status

18 comments

Afaik this is impossible on the play store because of some newish guideline

They don't want two identical apps if the whole point of the purchase could also be an in-app-purchase.

I'm not sure it's worth risking a ban to try this
- You can't do that anymore? Damn, I definitely preferred buying Sync for Reddit Pro as opposed to the IAP to remove ads. That was always better because it didn't even contain the code to show ads.
  
  How do you know what code it contained? For all you know it could be a simple build flag that disables the ads the same way iap would
- That's why I'm saying it could be an APK file we can download from Github/wherever
  
  Implementing your own licensing library is a lot of work for a very small audience.
Would be nice if we could buy the ad-free IAP from the Play Store directly and bypass any admob data collection altogether.
Here are some stock Android apps that use AdMob ads:

Google Chrome: The default web browser on Android shows banner ads at the bottom of the screen.

YouTube: The popular video-sharing app shows banner ads at the bottom of the screen and video ads before and during videos.

Gmail: The email app shows banner ads at the bottom of the inbox.

Google Maps: The navigation app shows banner ads at the bottom of the map view.

Google Play: The app store shows banner ads at the top and bottom of the screen.

Google Photos: The photo gallery app shows banner ads at the bottom of the screen.

Google Calendar: The calendar app shows banner ads at the bottom of the screen.

Google Drive: The cloud storage app shows banner ads at the bottom of the screen.

It's important to note that not all stock Android apps use AdMob ads. Some apps, such as the Google Clock app and the Google Calculator app, do not show any ads.

Also, it's possible that Google may remove AdMob ads from some stock Android apps in the future. For example, Google recently removed AdMob ads from the Google Search app.

Overall, the use of AdMob ads in stock Android apps is a relatively common practice. However, it's important to be aware that not all stock Android apps show ads, and that Google may choose to remove ads from some apps in the future.
- The use of ChatGPT is very noticeable in this reply and it is hallucinating a lot.
- Permanently Deleted
- in none of those apps there is a ad banner on the bottom.
- Google Calendar? Gmail? GOOGLE PHOTOS?
  
  Damn my DNS adblocker has been pulling weight then. This is absolutely ridiculous on Google's part, and a little greedy considering those are stock apps IMO
  
  You're surprised that Google apps contain Google advertising trackers?
- This is most AI hallucinations
- Wow! I've been using adguard for years now, and had no idea what I was missing
  
  You can check the logs in Adguard. Personally, I saw only 2 or 3 blocked entries in ytmusic, youtube(could be something due to premium) and google search, and no blocked entries for drive or photos, calender. Gmail does have ads in the promotions tab. But, its to be expected when you dont pay for that one.
- Yep, and that's why my LineageOS install has none of these apps

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