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AirPush Sends Ads to Your Notification Pane (And Why I Think It’s Horrible)

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So I just got done watching this video from an ad agency called AirPush that will allow developers to target users in a much more effective way – right from the notification pane. I immediately wondered what type of response they’d get from users. I’m sure developers are intrigued, but what about the people they’ll be showing these ads to?

AirPush’s technology will allow developers to send advertisements to your notification pane even if you’re not using the app. That’s the first bad part. The second bad part is that these ads are in my freaking notification pane where I expect to see stuff that I actually care about.

And what if you have multiple apps from the same or different developers with this technology? Yep, you’d probably need to wade through a sea of notification ads (it already sounds horrible) before you can get to your real notifications. I imagine this sort of thing will become very popular with developers for a few different reasons.

Why developers will love this

For starters, like I mentioned above, these will be pushed to a user’s notification pane at any time – they don’t even need to be in the app to help make the developer money. This tactic seems quite intrusive and I don’t imagine participating developers will give users the option to disable them.

Tying into the point above, users will be more likely to click on an advertisement in their notification pane than one inside the application they’re using. Whether it be by accident (because you thought it was a real notification) or just because certain users will want to get rid of them without having to dismiss legitimate notifications from other applications they use, the click rate would probably be much higher than traditional practices.

Finally, these types of ads would not be subject to the various ad-blocking methods out there for rooted users. Unless developers find a way to block notifications from certain services from showing up, there is nothing they can do to stop it short of removing the application itself.

Resistance isn’t futile, it’s inevitable and it works

It’s not just me who thinks this is a bad idea. Developers and users alike have taken to reddit and other channels to express their distaste for AirPush. Folks are coming together to try and identify which apps use it and developers are looking to build an application that would keep AirPush from working. Take a look at two posts on reddit – here and here – if you’d like to learn more and if you want to put your own word in.

Users in the Android market feel the same way, too. The developer behind APNDroid was the first to implement AirPush and immediately felt the resistance from his users. They complained so much that the amount of reports dubbing the application as “malicious” forced Google to take it off the market temporarily. It has since been republished, but the developer said he has learned his lesson and will no longer implement AirPush.

Developers should keep their ads within their own apps

“Go and use another free application or buy the full app,” you shout. Sure, that’s an option. And believe me, I’m all for developers making money. (I have a large list of paid apps that I use regularly.) But what I’m not for is them shoving their revenue generating tactic down our throats even when we’re not inside their application.

For that reason alone, I’ll close by saying I hope AirPush doesn’t take off. There are some who might like it and some who think it might be better for users, but if APNdroid is anything to go by, no one wants this on Android. The notification system was made to bring the information you want and need to the forefront without having to jump into each and every application you own each time you need a quick update. Don’t abuse it, folks.

I’m only one man with one opinion, though. What about you guys? Will AirPush be a harmless commodity for developers to embrace or do you think this sort of advertising would destroy your Android experience? Let your opinion be known in the poll and comments section below. [Thank you to Manny for drawing our attention to this!]

[polldaddy poll=4995102]

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

Samsung Galaxy S II Root Achieved

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115 Comments

  1. I’m a developer and I don’t imagine I will ever use this technology. I want people to want to use my apps…

    1. Out of curiosity (I’m also a developer):

      What about an app like “StatusNotes”, which lives entirely in the notification pane?

      I have long considered implementing a system like this, to offer full functionality to users of the free version, “StatusNote.” This would be 100% opt-in and easily disabled.

      If disabled, the normal restrictions would apply (for StatusNote, only allowing one note at a time).

      * It should be noted that I believe it is unethical to expose any type of ad when the user is not actively using an app. I am simply hoping for feedback for this specific type of situation. *

      Open to everyone’s opinion here.

      1. Essentially, the notification pane is for notifications ONLY. Not for ads. System notifications. Something that needs your attention. Ads do not require attention.

        However, since you mention it would be opt-in/opt-out, with reduced functionality with an opt-out; I would add this as a modal dialog the first time the user starts the app, selecting if they opt-in or out. And, it would be “kosher” to do this, since your app (per your description) lives in the notification pane only.

        I would look to only serve location-based ads, however. Like when the user is near Pizza Hut (Or anywhere else), and a coupon or some type of discount is available.

  2. I will uninstall every app I find on my phone that uses this. Unless its a great neccesary app, like most google apps, but I doubt Google would dabble in this, so I’ll steer clear of the others.

  3. I would immediately uninstall any app that did this, and NEVER download any app from that developer. I have no problem with ads and I have no problem clicking on one in a free app to support the developer, but this is going way too far.

    1. Same. I don’t usually rate apps unless they are amazing or terrible. Let’s say any app to do this would get a rating.

    2. Problem is I can see large fortune 500 companies using this. I would deplore my bank if they did this, but I might have to suck it up to make that deposit weekly via my phone.

      1. Couldn’t you just use your computer?

  4. These ads will use data when you aren’t using the app. Isn’t that wonderful?

    1. Also, I HATE push notifications. I refuse to update the facebook app. because there is no way to turn them off.

      1. Yes there is…
        1. Go to the Facebook app and touch the word “facebook” at the left side of the top blue banner to go to the app’s main page where news feed, profile, friends, etc are listed.
        2. Hit your phone’s MENU “button”.
        3. Choose SETTINGS.
        4. Un-check NOTIFICATIONS so they are inactive.
        5. If you really want to go overboard, before doing that last step, “click” REFRESH INTERVAL and “click” NEVER, then un-check MESSAGES, FRIEND REQUESTS and EVENT INVITES.

        1. I did that and still received push notifications.

          1. Yea facebook still sends me message notifications even though that option is unchecked.

  5. If this becomes widespread, I will leave Android. Enough said.

    1. I’d like to echo your statement but append the fact that it would drive me to switching to an iPhone or WP7…that’s how much I detest this idea.

    2. Leaving android over this will do no good. The ad networks will adapt to whatever is the popular system. The best thing to do is pressure developers, and google to not allow such a thing.

      1. Apple and microsoft would not let this happen, only google will.

    3. Any app using this will receive a one star and a comment about its intrusive behavior. If the doesn’t respond to falling ratings and complaints, then it will be removed and reported as malicious. A free app with advertising while I use it is one thing, but a a free app Falsely placing notifications on my phone in the form of ads is not tolerable. I dislike the offerings of Apple, RIM, Microsoft, or HP, but they would not allow an Abuse of their OS like this. If this becomes a problem I encounter too often, then I leave Android.

  6. I love the developers of android and appreciate the high quality stuff they have been able to churn out. I also have no problem with looking at ads in a free app, however, developers have absolutely no business pushing ads to the notification pane. If google wants to release a phone whose contract is highly subsidised by ads in the notification pain I would understand that decision (even though I would absolutely never buy the phone). The only way this would ever make even the slightest sense is if the apps are free, supper good and do most of their work in the background where naturally they would be unable to push adds but regardless an app that useful and valuable does not yet exist in my opinion. (And I have some good ones: Pandora, Tasker, Lookout, various podcast apps)

  7. I’m with the other guys – I’ll uninstall any app’ that uses this. I’m MORE the willing to pay for quality app’s.

  8. How is Android going to be taken seriously as a professional device if the primary/critical channel for alerts can be used to deliver advertisements?

    Apps and user-experience is becoming important even on business and professional devices (see RIM’s frantic and possibly too-late efforts in this area). But, first and foremost, the devices need to be able to be used as no-nonsense, get-out-of-the-way-and-let-me-work tools.

    Any technology that diminishes this functionality is a serious step in the wrong direction. It will either hurt the whole platform if it becomes ubiquitous or possibly force business and enterprise IT to limit these devices in their orgs or lock out user-experience apps rather than risk diluting core functionality like being able to rely on alerts without distraction.

  9. Any app that uses this will get uninstalled, and any dev who uses it will never make a cent from me.

    1. I know this is off topic and kinda stupid of me to ask but…any relation to Stephen?

      1. Sadly, no, but I wish I were lol.

  10. NukkaYarrell don’t like this idea.. no sir.

  11. I’m not sure I’d mind it so long as (1) it wasn’t a truly abusive number of ads and (2) I can opt out by purchasing the app, outright. Right now there are plenty of apps I use that are only free – no paid version – but that I’d happily pay for. If the current ads available aren’t cutting it, it’s more important to me to have developers motivated to make terrific apps than it is not to be bothered with ads. Then again, I’m sure this would get abusive pretty quickly.

  12. very unnecessary …but thank’s…

  13. Any aps that I have that do this will be instantly uninstalled.

  14. If you see any app doing this, 1. give it a 1 rating star. 2. Mark is a malware. because that is what it is.

  15. That AirPush video made me want to PunchSomeoneInTheFaceOverTheInternet, and I *am* an app dev in my spare time.

    The main problem with spamming the Notification Area with ads — ESPECIALLY to the “INACTIVE USERS” not running your app that they boast about — is that it’ll piss off a lot of people by degrading the usefulness of notifications and it’ll tarnish android as a whole. It’s pretty much the web-equivalent of the old POP-UP ads that no one sees anymore because they’re blocked by default in most browsers.

    If this catches on, I expect custom ROMs to get much more popular not least of all because of the baked-in ad-blocking.

    1. Yeah like a pop up ad from a site that you are not even browsing.

      1. I agree, it’s like a PC that is infected with malware that just pulls in pop-ups in the background

    2. like the way the site you are reading right now has pop ups for the thunderbold in the middle of reading articles…

      1. yea that shit is the most annoying advertising I’ve encountered in a looonng time.

  16. Attention devs: I will never use an app that uses this. That is all.

  17. Also a developer both my own personal apps and fulltime. There is a reason this was created. Android users don’t pay. How do you get money from users who don’t pay? Ads, annoying popups, In App Billing for addons, sell their data (like big apps do) and now this. Its inevitable until something catches on. Its going to get more annoying, more invasive and harder to avoid.

    Don’t want to look at ads in free apps or in your system tray? Fork up some dough and support the people who make this stuff! Its not cheap, its not easy and if you think it is, make your own and release it for free, with no ads and support it 24/7 and add every feature you are emailed instantly and update every 3 days and change the icon because someone said they would change the 1 star rating to a 5 if you did.

    That said, I am a cheap Android user just like the rest of you so I completely sympathize. My company is hesitant to support Android further because our iOS version outsells 10 to 1.

    1. And I’ll wager a week’s pay, if you utilized this on your android apps, you’d have zero sales.

    2. Make something worth buying and it will sell. Look at all the top paid apps, there’s plenty of examples. The problem isn’t users wont pay, the problem is the majority of the apps are buggy or aren’t worth paying for.

      Offer a free version that is supported by ads or a free limited trial version. Let user’s try out your app. If all the user has is the 15 minute window to try it then they’re less likely to spend $$ on it.

      1. Absolutely! I try to stick to apps that have a free and paid version, but some things (like Angry Birds and Movies by Flixter) only have the free version without the option to buy. Alternatively, I won’t buy an app that doesn’t have a free (or limited time trial) version so every single app that I purchased was an “upgrade” situation. If I’m going to spend my money on an app, prove it to me that you deserve my money first.

    3. “Don’t want to look at ads in free apps or in your system tray? Fork up some dough and support the people who make this stuff!” you say??? That makes me really furious because it’s just not that easy! When there is the option to buy an ad-free version of an app that I like, I buy it. When there isn’t, I’m not really given much of a choice, am I?

      Personally, out of the 47 total apps that I have downloaded, 17 have an ad-supported free version. Of those 17 apps, 9 do not have an ad-free paid version or any other way to get rid of the ads. For the 8 that do, I have paid for the ad-free version of the app.

    4. People say android users are cheap and don’t spend money on apps.
      That’s a bullshit copout if you ask me. Android users are more picky and don’t want to spend money on apps that are poorly made, unlike iOS users that will buy anything just because it’s on the iPhone.

  18. I already get the occasional spammy sms, which drives me batty as I pretty much check immediately thinking it to be relevent only to find garbage. Having to deal with something like airpush sounds just plain aweful… Yeah, like the majority pretty much agrees. Nobody would care for this it just cheapens the android experiance & will/would turn of alot of users/future users…

  19. What if these notification ads only appeared when the specific ad was running. It would have the benefit of only needing to be looked at when ready and not taking space from the actual application.

    1. That might not be as annoying, but I’d really prefer that every app have a free version and a paid version. That way people have the opportunity to try an app for free and, if they like it, pay for it to be ad-free.

      1. Not all apps can find screen real estate to display an ad

  20. Hmm…this was the same ad network that the article below cites as being responsible for having the developer’s application banned from the marketplace by Google.

    http://www.androidguys.com/2011/04/29/android-dev-learns-ad-revenue/

    Ads from the application, should NEVER be shown unless that application running period

  21. The ad platform only allows 1 ad per day…this is not a big deal people…

    1. 1 is too many!!

    2. Is that 1 Ad Per App using the network, or 1 Ad per device? If I have 5 apps installed using this method, will I see 1 ad a day, or 5 ads?

      1. You will see five ads, five ads you have to get through to get to your actual notifications.

    3. Any ad in my notification pane IS a big deal, whether 1 or 10 it has no reason to be there.

      1. Agreed. The ONLY way this would be allowed is if the ads in my notification bar were actually paying for my phone bill. I can deal with an ad always being there (at the bottom of all notifcations) if it saved me $40+ a month, but just to use a likely PoS app? pass.

  22. soon our handsets will be moving billboards–move and everyone (carriers, OEMs, Google, devs, etc) know exactly where you are and your phone will be displaying all kinds of ads from all of them, talking to you, etc. . . like the little devil in your ear telling you what you should be doing, where you should be going, and what you should be buying.

    1. and in apple’s case. . . what you should be thinking.

  23. How do the devs make money on the ads? Do they have to be clicked? Something bought from an ad? Or do they just get paid using the ad service?

  24. This will make their revenue go down, as more people who didn’t mind the ads that made the developers money. Will now use ad block to eliminate this and more and more will begin blocking ads on their device until its a buzzword even the newest user will be doing themselves. in hte end it will hurt android as a platform because more paid apps and less developers will be present

  25. This would be as annoying as phandroid using Bing ads.

    1. i think a better comparison is this is as annoying as phandroid having that fucking annoying thunderbolt ad take over your screen in the middle of reading an article…

      Quentyn you say you don’t like this intrusive ad stuff, please get rid of the same on your own site then!, i’m fine with banner adds, in fact i expect them, and i see a lot of space to the left and right of my screen right now where you could put some, but making it pop up over the article i am trying to read is annoying and counter productive.

      you want people to come read articles on your site right? then why do you interrupt them halfway through with advertisement?

  26. I don’t think that putting an add in the notification tray is any worse than putting it in the app screen real-estate itself. However, these adds should never ever be showing themselves (and especially not in the notification tray) when the user is not using the app. That would be like switching off the TV/radio and still hearing ads.

  27. It’s no problem. Any app that displays ads after it’s closed gets promptly removed. Simple as that.

  28. App version of a telemarketer? No thank you. I’d avoid this at all costs.

  29. development doesnt pay for itself

    1. And if the devs drive away users bu using Air Push they won’t get paid at all.

  30. I would pirate the ad free one of any app that has this installed in the lite or paid as opposed to buying it.

  31. this would be a very effective way to completely ruin android as a platform, users will feel their devices are no longer their own and jump ship

    1. This. I used to think that there wasn’t anything that would make me leave Android for an inferior platform, but this would do it.

  32. I know that advertising is a necessary evil but there is just far, far too much of it .This is an absolutely horrible idea and devs, I know it is going to be very tempting to use this but don’t do it. Just don’t. Any app that uses this horrible technology will be instantly uninstalled from my phone and any developer who uses it will never make so muck as a singe cent from me.

  33. In my estimation, they have NO right to force any ads on US when we are NOT using the software in question. But, if it catches on, developers will find a way to kill it on rooted devices. I can tell you for sure, i would never use such software. I have no problem with in app ads. That is fair if you are benefiting from free software.

  34. Here is what it says on Airpush website: “Earn over $3 CPM’s.
    Our ads generate significantly higher CTR’s, since users can view them at their own convenience rather than during an app session. As a result, Airpush developers typically earn $3 CPM’s and beyond. This is a much higher yield than your in-app ads, which can continue to run as well.”

  35. If this happens, I’ll be adding AirPush to Android’s list of “cons” in my Android vs. iPhone pro/con list. I hope it doesn’t come to fruition because there are some kick-butt Android devices that I’ve been drooling over in the past few months. I can’t upgrade for 4 months, but a lot can happen in that amount of time…

  36. Put me in the group that will never use an app that does this.

    If developers want to sell more apps Google needs to sell gift cards. Apple sells so many more because every grocery store has itunes gift cards at the checkout and people give them is gifts. My son has spent over $250 on apps since November because of gift cards. I think this is an advantage that the Amazon app store has over Google.

  37. Honestly it really depends. I don’t think one or two a day (I mean from all apps all together) would be that bad of a trade off.
    But maybe I’m just being insane.

    1. Except it wouldn’t just be one or two ads a day. Imagine of this really catches on and the majority of apps use it. You could be dealing with five ads. Or ten. Or more. If this catches on and you have twenty apps that use it installed tat means that you will have to wade through twenty intrusive ads just to get to your actual notifications. And each app might only show you one ad a day at first, but if this catches on and the greed sets in then it might be raised to two ads a day. Then three. And so on. This has the potential to get horribly out of control very fast and I hope that this never ever catches on. Ever.

  38. This is the equivalent of a pop up ad on your computer. Reeks of malware.

  39. I see this becoming a problem if it starts becoming bundled with Bloatware and for those who don’t install a custom rom to get rid of it.This is the same issue that Television fell into. People don’t like things that interrupt the experience. Also part of the reason Developers aren’t making a huge some is because the ads they put up aren’t usually related to the service I’m using. Why would someone using a note taking app be thinking about Car insurance. I think it would be nicer to have it where people say to you what ad they want to see. Like Hulu. Have it be apart of the app’s setup. I think if developers started using such foolish ad style you will see people drop Android. I know it would make look at W7, Blackberry, and Web OS. Especially if they have netflix and hulu plus already. I am already harshly considering buying an Ipad because its actually at a good price and has its complete features in order.

  40. I can see Apple and Microsoft publishing a s**t-load of apps to the Android Market that use AirPush.

  41. There was an app that did something like this. I don’t know which, but I immediately went on an uninstalling spree and uninstalled around 5 apps from my phone. Not only this is very annoying, but it will also damage innocent developers (in more than one way), kill your battery, and waste your data bandwidth.

    1. Agreed. The data bandwidth problem reminds me of the way Verizon wastes 15 seconds of your call plan when you go to leave a voice message and you have to wait for those “helpful” instructions like, “press 5 if you want to leave a page.” Like anyone actually pages anyone anymore! It’s just 15 seconds, but those seconds sure add up over millions of calls per day into a nice chunk of change for Vz.

  42. things like this makes you understand why apple is a dictatorship..though i enjoy my freedom on android..us regular consumers have less say as oppose to devs.

  43. My first reaction was that I would never knowingly install an app that uses AirPush, and if I did somehow end up installing one, I would immediately give it 1 star, a negative comment, remove it and flag it as malicious. After further consideration, it’s possible I would purposely install such apps just so I could do all of the above.

  44. Theres an ass cheek @ 1:00 in the video…anyone else notice??…haha!!!!

  45. Theres an ass cheek @ 1:00 in the video…anyone else notice??…haha!!!!

  46. I will immediately uninstall and negatively rate any application I download with AirPush, plain and simple.

  47. I guess i’m the only one who thinks that ads aren’t that big of a deal. Do you have that little self control that you can’t ignore something. Skip over it, delete it, clear your notification bar it’s not that big of a deal. It causes you to push an extra button. Oh my god! It’s the end of the world!!!! Not to mention sometimes I see an ad that is something I actually want to take advantage of. IT’s really not that big of a deal and whatever makes developers more money i’m for because it will increase the overall quality of applications with the incentive for profit. Sorry, i’m a fan of capitalism and it was the one thing that drove America to be great until the government started snuffing it out.

    1. reality called. It misses you.

      1. Reality is there will always be ads. Deal with it. There is no way around it.

    2. So, when that ad gets pushed to your phone and uses your data and you have to pay extra because those ads pushed you over your data plan limit, you’re still not going to be mad about it, right?

      1. Lol, who has a smartphone and doesn’t have an unlimited data plan? Don’t start talking about throttling either because i’ve never seen it. If you can’t afford unlimited data you can’t afford a smartphone.

  48. I’m a android dev and I won’t be incorporating any subversive/ unauthorized service like this to my userbase. Matter of fact, if crap like this (air-doodoo-in-your-face) does catch on, I’ll make it a point to reach out to the maker of adfree and see if we can make a app to block these types of things if their already isn’t one on the market or make one myself.

  49. Wow, I was convinced this was some kind of parody the first time I saw the video.

  50. Nasty. This service is one add per app per day. Somebody else is going to offer more if this catches on. This is one step closer to having adds on your actual homescreen. There has to be a better way.

  51. Same story as tele-marketers. You call my house, I refuse to EVER do business with you…

  52. I don’t think it’s worth worrying about, because I believe it will fail. I’d never put this in an app I made. And as a user I wouldn’t install an app that does that. I’m sure many people feel the same way.
    Stupid idea. It will fail, it deserves to.

  53. I hate Apple iPhone, but if this crap finds it’s way onto my Android phone then that is simply the end for me and Android.

  54. Devs have every right to use this technology. I have every right to rate their applications poorly. As a result, this method of ad delivery will only be present on apps that you have no other choice on, like banking apps. For obvious reasons I don’t use those, I don’t know why anyone who is tech savvy would. The only danger I see is uninstallable provider apps and I don’t think any provider would be dumb enough to sink a phone like that.

    1. Providers dumb enough to make this an uninstallable provider app (Bloatware):

      Virgin Mobile
      Cricket
      Boost
      MetroPCS

  55. Any developer using that should just be banned from the market. This is no different than having your computer infected with something that just shows pop-ups throughout the day.

    1. I thought the beauty of the open and free Android marketplace was that nobody can be ‘banned’. Freedom has a price.

  56. HORRIBLE idea. My phone’s notification bar is to notify me about My PERSONAL Life. Not for developers to push ads at me when I’m not even in their apps. You know how the Google motto is, “Don’t be evil?” Well, this qualifies as “evil,” imho.

    I am more than happy to pay for (and I have paid for) apps that I think are GOOD apps. If the app is free and ad-supported or there is no ad-free paid version, then I understand the need for ads. When Angry Birds became available in a paid version, for example, I couldn’t wait to pay that small price just to clear away those banner ads!

    For people with limited data plans, this is crappy. If you are not in the app, then why should you have to use your limited bandwidth to put up with notification bar ads?? Verizon (Exhibit A for why I hate bloatware) would be the first to hijack the notification bar to push ads about any and everything related to (mostly unwanted) Verizon apps or its (mostly unused) Verizon App store. And since you can’t uninstall their bloatware without rooting, the poor consumer is just stuck. I know rooting is always an option, but the average consumer is not going to go through the trouble of rooting – nor should a consumer have to – just to use, without unnecessary interference, a phone that s/he OWNS.

    I don’t want to have to wade through even one ad to hopefully, possibly (finally) get to what’s important to me on my own phone! Getting ads about an app that I am not even using is of ZERO importance to me. Not only is it annoying, it is an ironclad way to positively guarantee that I will not buy ANYthing pushed in such a manner. You can count on that. If I have to root my phone to eliminate this scourge, then so be it.

    BTW, it is possible to make money in the Android Market without driving nearly every potential customer crazy. First and most important: the dev actually has to make a GOOD APP – or dare I say, a GREAT APP. Having a terrific app will make it stand out from all the drek that currently populates the Android Market. If it’s great and free with ads or great with a fair and reasonable cost, believe me, people will notice. Invading my personal space with app ads when they are not invited and unwanted may sound like a great way to make money in the short term, but there will be considerable long term damage. So please, devs, think about keeping your customers happy, think about the long term and keep in mind that this push platform could cost far more than you might gain.

  57. Already sick of ads , if Google does this , bye , bye Android .
    Next we will have to have a chip implanted so we will see ads 24/7 , enough is enough .

  58. Why don’t you all just bombard them with emails “[email protected]” and tell them that they suck?

  59. I would never allow an app to put adds up there, I would uninstall instantly if I saw that. If it was built into the phone I would throw out the phone. If it was build into Android I would drop Android and buy an iphone. (And I LOVE Android and have had an Android phone since day 1 with the G1). I despise adds and this would be obtrusive and unacceptable to me.

  60. Any app that puts an ad in my notification bar will be immediately uninstalled and 1 starred. I will never buy a full app to get rid of the ad.

  61. Will it be easy to see which app is causing the add to pop up in the notification pane? This has the potential to render Android useless as a serious platform.

    1. An update I installed a couple of days ago for Wiki Encyclopedia included this garbage. I believe in the notification bar ad itself it referenced the app producing it. Apparently there was an option to shut those ads off but I don’t care. Any developer using these in any form is getting their app removed.

  62. I wish Google and the other app stores would make it a violation of their terms of service for software devs to HIJACK the notification bar without explicit user consent. What right does any dev have to your system when you are not even ACTIVELY using the offending software. NONE. Maybe Google can unilaterally make that a violation for any Android software.

  63. Notification bar ads = no ad revenue from me because that app will be uninstalled immediately. I won’t even bother to check if the ads can be shut off, it’s GONE. Seems to me that is the only way I can send a clear enoughmessage to developers

  64. @rozwell – Problem is there isnt the quality on andriod as there is on ipod/phone. I’m not cheap, I’ve spent plenty in Apples store, and would spend plenty on andriod if I felt compelled. While we have a few bright stars, there is simply more quality on apples store. When was the last time you installed an app that crashed/fc on your iphone/ipod every time you tried to run it? Or insisted to start every time I start my phone. No Im not an Apple phan-boy but, my ipod just works. My droid x cannot start without crashing, locking, freezing, rebooting. Worthless.

    One of the biggest hurdles is the lack of oversite in andriod’s store.
    They need to check these apps out better for what they do, how they function. I have personally switched to amazons store, have not been back to Google’s other than to check for updates. No offense to you but, it is googles way of doing things that I dont trust or like.

    Apple can be king size aholes but it is hard to argue with the general results. I hope they can bring things together because competition is good, and Apples “dont like it, to bad” attitude, pisses me off. Im rooting you…..for you Andriod.

  65. An apps usage shouldn’t go beyond serving its use. Ads and other means of money making should be done only within the domain of that application.. imagine your android turning into metropcs’s subsidized ad-targeted phones… ridiculous there’s a limit

  66. Ads outside app environment = uninstall. Easy button.

  67. I think these ads are good and let me explain why.

    Imagine APNDroid with them forever. No one will love it, so someone smarter will make a clone with normal ads or for 1$. Users will use clone and its dev will be rewarded for being nice – everyone is happy!

  68. I agree with many of the above. Instantly uninstall any app that does this and mark with one star and a bad comment. I don’t mind adds in apps so that developers can get paid but don’t mess with my OS interface or I will blacklist you and your apps from my device and badmouth you to all my friends.

  69. Airpush Responds to User Privacy Concerns http://bit.ly/jDUXAQ
    Mandates 100% user opt-in.

  70. Not to dredge up an old thread, but, for the record (and the benefit of people Googling for answers):

    I noticed notification spam a couple of days ago.  It was marked with an icon consisting of a white star with a red dot in it.

    It took a fair bit of research in order to come up with Airpush as the provider of the spam.  It took more research to pin it down to a specific application.  (The difficulty I experienced in my research probably indicates that it’s not yet a widespread phenomenon, which is good, but it seems likely to become one…)

    In my case, the app was Volume Settings (by C.D.). I gave it a one-star review, with an explanation, and uninstalled it.  I wish I could have done more in the Market to discourage others from using it, but alas.

    I was able to pin it down with my phone in debug mode, using adb and logcat.  This is certainly beyond the means of most users, but for those so-inclined:

    You’ll see entries for for the Airpush SDK doing its thing in logcat.  Immediately -prior- to that in the log, you’ll find the name of the app responsible.  Please do the world a favor and give it a 1-star review, remove it, and post the details about it (including a description of the icon itself) somewhere where Google can index it.  This latter step will help make it easier for others to find answers to this plague.

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