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Apps AirPush - A note to Devs

UPDATE:

Victory will be ours!

Not only does Jelly Bean (if you have it) let you stop apps from pushing notifications, but Google has now revised their app standards for Devs that specifically prohibit apps from installing shortcuts without letting the user know (and have a way to undo it), and prohibit ads from an app that "simulate a notification".

Here are the quotes from the article on the Phandroid front page.

Ads Context
It must be clear to the user which app each ad is associated with or implemented in. Ads must not make changes to the functioning of the user’s device outside the ad by doing things such as installing shortcuts, bookmarks or icons or changing default settings without the user’s knowledge and consent. If an ad makes such changes it must be clear to the user which app has made the change and the user must be able to reverse the change easily, by either adjusting the settings on the device, advertising preferences in the app, or uninstalling the app altogether.
Ads must not simulate or impersonate system notifications or warnings.
​
Click to expand...
Oh yeah! SCREW YOU, AIR PUSH!

Entire article here: Google’s New Ad Policy Could Signal The End For Airpush and Other Annoying Android Ads

Sing it! Nah nah naaaah nah, nah nah naaaah nah, hey heyyyy hey.... GOODBYE!

Dear Devs, to be clear, we are NOT against you making money from your apps. I have stated repeatedly in this thread that I have absolutely no problem with ads in apps, and I do buy apps regularly (or pay for donation apps). We just don't want ads in our notification tray, or strange shortcuts showing up on our devices! :)
 
FYI, that will only apply to apps in Google Play. If you have other sources for apps you may still get unwanted notifications.
 
mjschmidt said:
UPDATE:

Victory will be ours!

Not only does Jelly Bean (if you have it) let you stop apps from pushing notifications, but Google has now revised their app standards for Devs that specifically prohibit apps from installing shortcuts without letting the user know (and have a way to undo it), and prohibit ads from an app that "simulate a notification".

Here are the quotes from the article on the Phandroid front page.

Oh yeah! SCREW YOU, AIR PUSH!

Entire article here: Google
Click to expand...
 
any adds pushed to the status bar when the game is not in use is SPAM, no iff's and's or butt's.

And people will fight SPAM any way they can.

AirPush might as well be a prince located in Nigera with $100,000 in the bank and they need my help to withdraw the money with my bank account info.
 
I absolutely 100% agree. AirPush makes me sick both as a developer and an end user. I hope that developers will stop signing a deal with the devil, because I've been seeing AirPush way more frequently than I should, probably because it does bring in sizable income.
 
I'm a developer who uses only AirPush.

Here's why/

-I started using Admob, they give you really low ECPMS (ECPMS = the amount of money they pay you for 1000 impressions, an impression is everytime a banner ad is displayed. So if you had two banner ads on a layout, with a refresh time of 30 seconds, and the average user spends 2 minutes on the page, you would get 4 impressions/use)
-Mobclix was giving me around 21c ecpm, so I swtiched to MobClix. I was pretty happy with mobclix, they were giving me around 75c ecpm, and I was making decent money daily. That was until I realized it would probably take a year to get paid.
-So I finally switched to AirPush, they advertise they give $4 ecpm, but in reality they give $2 ecpm and they pay WEEKLY!!!
-If you aren't a developer you don't know how important it is to get paid weekly, no more emailing your network daily, no more worrying if your ad network will suddenly readjust your revenues for no reason.

-Another great thing about Airpush is that as long as my app is installed on your device I get paid. With banner ads you only get paid when the app is being used.

-Honestly, I don't care if you don't download my app because I have airpush, even if 2/3 of user will uninstall my app due to airpush, the 3x ECPM makes up for it.
 
sugo55 said:
I'm a developer who uses only AirPush.

Here's why/

-I started using Admob, they give you really low ECPMS (ECPMS = the amount of money they pay you for 1000 impressions, an impression is everytime a banner ad is displayed. So if you had two banner ads on a layout, with a refresh time of 30 seconds, and the average user spends 2 minutes on the page, you would get 4 impressions/use)
-Mobclix was giving me around 21c ecpm, so I swtiched to MobClix. I was pretty happy with mobclix, they were giving me around 75c ecpm, and I was making decent money daily. That was until I realized it would probably take a year to get paid.
-So I finally switched to AirPush, they advertise they give $4 ecpm, but in reality they give $2 ecpm and they pay WEEKLY!!!
-If you aren't a developer you don't know how important it is to get paid weekly, no more emailing your network daily, no more worrying if your ad network will suddenly readjust your revenues for no reason.

-Another great thing about Airpush is that as long as my app is installed on your device I get paid. With banner ads you only get paid when the app is being used.

-Honestly, I don't care if you don't download my app because I have airpush, even if 2/3 of user will uninstall my app due to airpush, the 3x ECPM makes up for it.
Click to expand...

Well I am a consumer, and I will never use your apps, and I will always encourage others to do the same. Here is why: Airpush is unwanted SPAM and I am glad that Google has updated their terms and conditions for developers to try to get rid of this spam.
 
sugo55 said:
I'm a developer who uses only AirPush.

Here's why/

-I started using Admob, they give you really low ECPMS (ECPMS = the amount of money they pay you for 1000 impressions, an impression is everytime a banner ad is displayed. So if you had two banner ads on a layout, with a refresh time of 30 seconds, and the average user spends 2 minutes on the page, you would get 4 impressions/use)
-Mobclix was giving me around 21c ecpm, so I swtiched to MobClix. I was pretty happy with mobclix, they were giving me around 75c ecpm, and I was making decent money daily. That was until I realized it would probably take a year to get paid.
-So I finally switched to AirPush, they advertise they give $4 ecpm, but in reality they give $2 ecpm and they pay WEEKLY!!!
-If you aren't a developer you don't know how important it is to get paid weekly, no more emailing your network daily, no more worrying if your ad network will suddenly readjust your revenues for no reason.

-Another great thing about Airpush is that as long as my app is installed on your device I get paid. With banner ads you only get paid when the app is being used.

-Honestly, I don't care if you don't download my app because I have airpush, even if 2/3 of user will uninstall my app due to airpush, the 3x ECPM makes up for it.
Click to expand...

Which apps are yours?
 
I'm a developer and I could never put airpush (or any notification ads) in my apps. I hate apps that include them so I will not make my users endure something that I don't want to endure myself.

Sure its tempting when I don't make much and I could make probably 10x the amount by using these ads. But in the end I want users to be happy. I want to eventually make a really popular app that everybody wants to use. If I keep at it I will get better at developing and make better apps. In the long run I will make more. Notification ads are the easy way out for developers that don't want to put the work in to become successful.
 
I am a developer and while I did look at AirPush for the "Lite" version for a debut upcoming game (with the "ad wall" in-game), it was never once considered to use the notification ads or shortcut ads. They not only are overbearing, but could easily be thought of by users as malicious or, to put it plainly, slighting them by going around their trust of an app providing what it says, while disclosing what it does. This sort of basic trust is essential if you're going to then ask for said user to pay for your app/game/etc. or support you at all as a developer.

As fiveHellions mentions, if you don't have any other litmus test, one of the basic criteria for determining placement of an ad or other non-functionality feature for your programs should be "Would we install apps with this ourselves, or would we think it's bad?". While tech-savvy users know ads don't tend to be malicious if it's a banner ad or similar inside a program on Android, they nearly universally dislike them, and many people in the more casual or non-young-adult demographic don't know whether they're safe to have on their phone, thinking they may be malware or a virus. For many reasons, among others, the decision was made to not utilize these sorts of systems.

I look forward to the day, soon, when I can announce the game :).
 
I totally agree with fiveHellions and IcyPeak above. I also doubt that AirPush will get you more revenue on the long run. Sure, after you have just published your application you will experience impressing results. After a while however, people will lose interest and the active device installs will dramatically drop. You will need to constantly publish new updates or new applications.

On the contrary, a well-written app, with a mild Ad mechanism, can constantly increase the active device installs and produce a growing income.
 
You give bad reviews for Airpush???:confused::confused:
thats so unfair..
From what i read,you only hate notification Ads..I use airpush in my app but no push ads enabled...I only use smart walls...

using Airpush need not mean there are push notification Ads...
Please wait until you see a notification Ad before the bad review..:o:rolleyes:
 
amalvj123 said:
You give bad reviews for Airpush???:confused::confused:
thats so unfair..
From what i read,you only hate notification Ads..I use airpush in my app but no push ads enabled...I only use smart walls...

using Airpush need not mean there are push notification Ads...
Please wait until you see a notification Ad before the bad review..:o:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

What else does airpush do other than push ads? What is "smart walls"? I have never heard a single legitimate or reasonable reason to use airpush...

Instant 1 star review and app reported as spam is completely the right thing to do if an app causes notification spam or spam icons added to my home screen.
 
If I'm understanding this page correctly, a "smart wall" is an interstitial ad placed within the app. If they only appear when running the app that's feeding the ads it's IMO legitimate as it identifies itself to the user and let's them choose. That style of ad would cause me to immediately uninstall the app anyway, but if it's only present when running the app and doesn't otherwise interfere with the phone's UI or function then it's a matter of individual choice.

@amalvj123: Of course, if someone finds other airpush ads on their phone, and has more than one app containing airpush, they will have no idea which app is the culprit. And there's nothing to stop a developer releasing an app with one type of ad and allowing others later. So don't be surprised if you are tarred with the same brush.

Personally I find the other features of airpush to be actually offensive. But while they would be an annoyance for someone like me, the majority of smartphone owners don't know about this stuff or how it works, and many find it genuinely distressing when they first encounter it. We've had many members who've been panicked because they think their phone has malware, or even lost data due to doing a factory reset because they believed their phone to be infected. So forgive me, but as long as those features exist in their toolkit, I will have a zero tolerance attitude to Airpush, and will not use any app that contains it in any form.
 
When I find an app that is useful I will go out of my way to buy the paid/pro version, whether or not that app uses any type of ad model. I like to support developers who create apps that make my phone useful and I feel that this practice guarantees continued development.

However, I refuse to use any app that sends ads to my notification tray. When I find an app such as this I do the following:
* leave a review and mention that ads appear in the notification tray
* uninstall the app
* blacklist the developer
* post my experience on all of my blogs and social networks

I feel that apps that use any type of ad model are not free, and shouldn't be labeled as such, we're paying for them with our bandwidth and the maintenance/upkeep of our devices.

This is how I manage my devices. Others are, of course, free to do what they wish with their devices.
 
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