this post was submitted on 15 Jun 2023

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Android

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255

Is this even allowed? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by Sleuth to c/android

25 comments fedilink hide all child comments

This crap is completely unacceptable.

The app has 10M+ downloads, and is already filled with ads as it is. I DO NOT want and WILL NEVER want ads as push notifications.

I'm quite sure this isn't allowed on the playstore according to the Play Console Help page. Which states:

Ads must not simulate or impersonate the user interface of any app feature, such as notifications or warning elements of an operating system. It must be clear to the user which app is serving each ad.

And shows this picture:

I now consider GPS Speedometer malware, immediate uninstall.

all 30 comments

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[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 year ago (4 children)

For simple apps like that I usually check out F-droid see if any open source versions exist. Might not be as feature rich but there's two GPS speedometer apps on there

Status Bar Speedometer (Display your current speed as notification) https://f-droid.org/packages/ch.rmy.android.statusbar_tacho/

Blue Square Speedometer (Simple speedometer & GPS viewer) https://f-droid.org/packages/net.nhiroki.bluesquarespeedometer/

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago

When it comes to android apps I always look for open source stuff first. Literally just save the headache of dealing with bot-reviews, ads in app, etc.

[–] Sleuth 20 points 1 year ago

Thanks for the reccs. I don't need it to do much more than give me my speed so these'll work great!

[–] dustojnikhummer 4 points 1 year ago

Wish fdroid at least tracked app installs (clicking of the download button)

[–] Anti_Weeb_Penguin 35 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Serious question, why are you using an app called "gps speedometer"? Anyway, this is why i always download apps from F-Droid.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

This is the way, for every flashlight type of app, F-Droid or nothing. The Play Store is riddled with this easy malicious apps.

[–] 666dollarfootlong 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Could be their cars' speedo is broken or very inaccurate?

[–] Anti_Weeb_Penguin 9 points 1 year ago

I thought the app was to enhance the GPS connection i'm so dumb 💀💀💀

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Ooh! Maybe for a bike courier or something!

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 year ago

Yep that’s an uninstall and 1 star review for sure.

[–] [email protected] 28 points 1 year ago

Bahaha are you kidding me?

This is so egregiously annoying that it's almost funny. Hopefully the app gets taken down for breaking PlayStore TOS.

[–] marciealana 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

You can always deny it the priviledge of giving you notifications...

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago

Yeah, this seems like a sketchy way of pushing adds. I’m fairly sure ads shouldn’t be pushed in the notification tray.

Your last statement is probably the safest route.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Did you report the app?

[–] Sleuth 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm trying but I keep getting "Error loading workflow. Please try again in a few minutes".

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago

Ahhh selective server errors, my favourite.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

I think this is outrageous and I fully support uninstalling this app and leaving a bad review.

However, if you really cannot go without this app, android has a very easy-to-use notification control system. Depending on the app, you may even be able to only turn off ad-notifications while keeping all the other proper notifications working. Just long-press on any notification from the app to access the settings

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That app is definitely malware, be careful when donwloading stuff!

If you want an additional layer of protection I strongly suggest using a private DNS like Nextdns.io or adguard-dns.io, which are basically system-wide adblockers. Less ads and less risks to your privacy/security.

If you end up using them I strongly suggest enabling only the regional lists and the OISD list, nothing else (since too many lists could slow down your navigation and/or block stuff you need)

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

And if you like tinkering with things, you can install a Pi-hole on a local Raspberry.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Got the same ad this morning. Instant uninstall.

[–] Devgard 12 points 1 year ago

Flag as Inappropriate on the app store and review it 1 star or 2 star to avoid mass deletions due to brigading

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 year ago

Trash practices. That's a horrible abuse of the user.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 year ago

r/assholedesign, or maybe c/assholedesgin instead

[–] dustojnikhummer 6 points 1 year ago

Just fyi, Google Maps has a GPS speedometer, but you need to nagivate somewhere