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A few days ago we posted an article talking about the horribly invasive ads popping up on our Android devices thanks to some apps in the Market using an ad system dubbed Airpush. It was probably the worst marketing idea we’ve since the beginning of this Android thing and it was unanimous that nobody wanted it on their devices, and we wouldn’t use apps that displayed those ads.
Today, we have a new type of ad system. I know what you’re thinking “KILL IT WITH FIRE!” but would you believe that there is an app on the Market that actually PAYS YOU to view ads on your phone? Now that I have your attention, Tooyoou is an app in the Market that allows you to place a small banner ad on your homescreen in the form of a widget and you get paid through your Paypal account for as long as the widget stays there. Essentially, the company is giving you a percentage of the ad-revenue they’re making off these ads and you don’t have to do anything but give up some precious screen real estate. Easy right?
If you guys have learned one thing about me by now it’s that I like to save my monies. So think about it. Even if you’re only making somewhere around $4-5 a month on these ads (a very optimistic estimate), anyone with good financial sense would tell you to save that money and by the time your contract is up, you can a little sting out of upgrading to that new device.
This app is very new and there are a few things I’m wary on. For one, Tooyoou requires a lot of permissions which always makes me a bit paranoid. Second, the app requires a constant data connection which has me wondering how this could potentially affect my battery life. I’ll have to give it a spin for a few days and keep a close eye on it. But what do you guys think? Excited to start making money off of your vacant homescreens? Or is the cost of yet another ad on your Android device enough to drive you mad?
UPDATE: I’ve been exchanging emails with Tooyoou and here are some clarifications:
1. Multiple widgets do not affect earnings.2. At any time user can go to Settings -> About Phone -> Battery -> Battery Use and check if Tooyoou uses substantial battery. Tooyoou is tested on multiple android devices and you will never see Tooyoou drain much battery or even show up in the delivered Android battery drain console.3. Payments go out automatically on the payment date through automated MassPay on our servers connected to Paypal. Users need not do anything at all.4. Tooyoou Android App users will not be able to log in to the tooyoou.com website with their app username and password. Website is for advertisers only and we have not released user features yet.5. How is payment calculated? We pay a substantial portion of the CPMs to users now. Clicking the Ad multiple times will not earn them anything. We are optimizing the algorithm so that better user behavior and more interaction with the App benefits them more.6. We wanted users to have a say/choice in mobile advertising. Coupled with their location you can imagine how valuable this space would be to advertisers going forward. We will be updating the App with more categories very soon.7. I have replied to most user questions until now and will continue to give my best effort in supporting them.8. Typical users have made about $2.50 a month.9. Tooyoou is US Patent Pending 61/424,399
all of my $$ goes to probation so i need the cash lol
I think their server is down
yeah its not lettin me sign up:/
I think we broke it =/
Probably, someone’s using too many cheap/old Android phones each w/ 28 widgets per homescreen… Like a bawse…
>.<
So we could put it on a screen that we never use or have to see and still make money? How do they pay you at the end of the month….I’m guessing paypal?
Yes, paypal. Updating my post now..
the more widgets the more money??
28 widgets on every homescreen. Like a bawse o_O
heck yeah!! hahaha
Go buy some cheap used androids and register them with different emails and load them screens with adds. haha
I have an old G1 I could leave plugged up and connected to Wi-Fi all day. You think it could work? :O
that’ll kill your ability to run your phone smoothly
Does anyone know if this app is legit about paying you?
Ok get this:
You watch ads to make money, they get 30%, and give you the rest at the end of the month.
It is legal.
Unless they’re paying $1000 a day I’ll be having no part of this madness.
cool with me. more money for johnny :D
I’m waiting for the “It was too good to be true” shoe to drop, but I’m all about opting-in to an ad system that subsidizes my bill.
I’m going to give it a shot too. Hopefully we won’t have permission problems or too much battery or data drain.
The “too good to be true” part is how much that ad is worth. $2CPM would be really solid for that, and TooYoou is going to take at least 30% of that. So, if they show you look at your phone 10 times a day, over 30 days, that’s .30 (300 impressions out of the 1,000 in a CPM)*.7 (your rev share) *$2 the end CPM charged to the advertiser) = $0.42/mo.
enjoy!
Im sure there’s a way to manipulate the equation to yield a higher amount of money.
Under the FAQs on the website they estimated users would earn about $0.75 per month but they expect that to increase.
http://tooyoou.com/faq/appUsers
Think about it this way. A lot of people out there are using ad block, but if they figured they would get money from ads, they might consider uninstalling ad block. Heck, they might even be encouraged to click on ads to try and get revenue from that. I could see this being good for developers, encouraging users to embrace ads rather then shun them.
Its US only :(
Unfortunately. Like a good few android services/apps.
It’s now letting me sign up either! :(
What if i download multiple home replacement apps and put widgets on every home screen? Sounds interesting I don’t mind adds that pay me, I might actually look at them; maybe a discount at a good restraunt!
It is not letting me sign up. What gives!!
You are sorely mistaken if you think that putting ads in front of you on your phone for 1 month is worth anywhere near $15. Try….$1
only for US :( …. I would sign up if it comes to UK ….
I tried downloading it but it says it’s not compatible with my Nexus S…really?
i signed up just fine with my g2x
Ha, and the widget doesn’t even need to be visible.
Just use ADW/LP(I think LP can anyway) and use the option to let widgets overlap, then just put your other widgets over a shrunk widget from this app. Bam, no actual ad in the way, and you get monies.
At least, it seems sound in theory. It’s what I’m doing anyway.
You clever little trickster, you! :D
Ive got it downloaded but it doesnt show on my widgets.
One cent and going strong. Hope this thing actually does what it says, just created a separate screen for it.
“vacant homescreens”?
$.03! lol
1. Install application.
2. Place on homescreen.
3. ????
4. Profit!
Yeah, definitely keep us updated on how this turns out, I wouldn’t mind downloading the application if it’s legit, and the payment is decent.
Btw, does more widgets = more cash?
Nope. One is all you need =)
Found this on their FAQ – “Right now, our starting monthly user payments are about $0.75 a month.”
http://tooyoou.com/faq/appUsers
Maybe it pays for the case for your new phone, if you buy the cheap one from china, and a mcdouble.
I’ve been using Tooyoou for a few months. Have received 3 or 4 payments via PayPal. I’ve never seen the app listed on my battery usage rundown.
Not much money coming in yet ($2 – $4 a month), but right now there are only app ads. Eventually companies will be bidding on these spaces.
Tip: more widgets =/= more money
does the app must require a 24/7 internet connection? what about turning the screen off and went sleep mode?
It does require a constant connection, but simply shows a placeholder when there is none available.
I would hope that the updates are suspended when the device is idle. Again, I have witnessed no noticeable battery drain, so I am assuming that it sleeps when the device does.
This is exactly the info a lot of people were asking for! Thank you! :D
And yeah, like you said — it’s only app ads. Once bigger names start signing on we can expect a higher payout.
It’s a lot like this website I was using called MyLikes. I was literally earning $10 a month a first, but once bigger names signed on, I’m at $50. :)
Hmmm… Seems interesting… Apart from the permissions it’s asking, I don’t really have qualms about it. My data connection is always on and I have a 12gig/month cap (yup, 12 Gigabytes per month is how it is in Singapore), so it shouldn’t make much of a difference in my data and battery consumption. I may just give this a try.
Do you guys think this app and the company behind it is reliable?
Edit: Crap! I just read the rest of the comments and found out it’s only for US. Oh, well…
It sounds great, and if im at home a lot, or if im at school and leave my phone at home, i would have it charging running the app so battery life would be fine, problem is,, Im in the UK.. :/
LOL @ paying somebody .75 a month…not worth my time or home screen space
But at the end of the moth you make at least 20 dollars, and as far as I see it, you poor americans need it :P
You always complain about not having enough money, and gas prices, this could help a little bit…
i can create as many as home screen i like on MIUI haha
1 cent so far haha
it lets me log in on their site but not the app..anyone else have this problem?
This doesn’t make a whole lot of advertising sense. Are they paying me to advertise to me directly? I’m not interested in any products purchased that way and I’m pretty sure most people aren’t swayed by mobile ads. It just sounds a bit “dot com”-ish, if you know what I mean.
Ads are placed to reach the most users possible, the only user who is going to see an ad on my mobile screen is…me.
not you, but the people who using the app. the more people using the app, the more people will be viewing their advertisements and it will brings in all advertisers.
I get what you’re saying – but I don’t think that it adds up. Any instance of viewing an ad only has value if there is a potential of a sale as a result. Most people hate ads, and I can’t imagine anyone is going to sit there staring at their phone 24/7 to see all the ads that are displayed. In fact, most responses here indicate the idea is “out of sight, out of mind”.
Let me put it another way. I’m an advertiser. I want my ad to be seen by as many potential customers as possible. I could use banner ads or Google ads to sell my product, and both of these are effective to some degree as it is all about exposure, but what gain do I get out of people loading an app on another home screen and never looking at it. Nothing, plus I have to share any of that time with the other marketers that are advertising through the system, so even if the user does glance at the app now and then, its highly unlikely my ad will be the one displayed.
It smacks of “click” generating, where companies would pay people to click banner ads to generate impressions. This was simply exploiting the click revenue system to generate false and misleading exposure levels.
I have 1 homescreen free, one that I never visit….might aswell plaster adds there, then again it is only available in the US? :( lame
So does anyone know exactly what scheme they use for calculating payment? Do they pay you for the number of different ads they load in your widget over the month? Do they pay you for “views” of those ads, regardless of how many different ads you get? Do clicks matter? Does moving to the screen with the widget count as a “view”?
I need to start min-maxing this thing! :-D
You Kids are freakin crazy. All this for less than 3 bucks a month. GO WORK
Rooted users from what I gather need not apply. Won’t even let me dl from the market. Rooted HTC Thunderbolt.
What about using it on multiple devices? I have it installed and running on my EVO 4G. Tried to install it on my Flyer, but it keeps force-closing.