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How do people feel about ads in apps?

A

alinium

Lurker
Hypothetical: Should I charge 99c for my app, or integrate ad support?

I've had some people tell me that they never use apps with ads since they don't trust them. On the other hand, if the app is not free, it gets very low downloads, maybe even none, since it is hard to try the app to find out if you like it or not.

As a developer, one of my biggest gripes about offering paid apps on the Android market is that it is fairly easy to distribute pirated versions of the app. If the app has ads, the developer can actually benefit from this sort of distribution since they get more eyeballs for their ads. But if it's a paid app, then the developer loses out completely.

One viable option could be to have an in-app purchase option to switch off the ads. In this case, a pirated version of the app would still feature the ads. But for users who don't want it, they can use the in-app purchase to get rid of the apps.

What do you guys prefer?
 
Personally I NEVER click any ads that come up. I rarely even look at what they're offering. But that's also the same for the TV - most of my TV is recorded so we can skip through the ad breaks. On the phone I use Adfree which keeps most of them at bay. Some people will say 'oh, but you're depriving the developer of funds!'. I say, read my first sentence again. I NEVER respond to ads on the phone. NEVER. So I'd rather not have extra windows getting in the way of an app.

Just MHO.

Dave
 
Offer both. There are some people that will never pay for an app for some reason, they need a free option.

There are people like me that always buy apps they like if there is a paid version available. Plus, if there isn't an ad free version I can buy you can't make any money off of me at all because I block ads on my phone.
 
As long as they are not intrusive or all over the place I don't have a problem with them.
Also if I feel the app is a good one I don't mind, and often do purchase pro/donate versions to show devolper support.
 
Adauth said:
As long as they are not intrusive or all over the place I don't have a problem with them.
Also if I feel the app is a good one I don't mind, and often do purchase pro/donate versions to show devolper support.
Click to expand...


Agreed, as long as the advert is not too intrusive and doesn't interfere with or impair the operation of the app or game, I don't have a problem with that. It's the only choice for me and many others, because paid apps are not available.
 
In agreement too. I don't mind the ones as banners at top or bottom of screen, but the ones that pop up on the whole screen that you have to close before continuing a game are very annoying and I tend to purchase the ad-removed version if I like the app enough. If not, it just gets un-installed and I find another app to do the job that doesn't have annoying ads.
 
I like the idea of offering both versions. Perhaps limit the functionality of the free version (if possible) to show value in buying the full version.

I'm also in the camp of NEVER clicking ads. If I see a developer getting cute by sticking the ads close to an area I might accidentally click, I uninstall the app. If I find the ad intrusive or irritating, I uninstall the app.

I admit I'm not typical in how I use/value Android apps. I consider an app with ads as a demo and will actually pay for an app if I use it regularly (or just want to thank the programmer). Developers ought to get paid for their efforts. However my tolerance for ads is near zero so what might not annoy someone else will be intolerable to me.
 
If i was a developer i would have a "trial" app with full functions and then offer a paid apps. Personally, i dont like ads but i understand that the dev put hard work into it.

When i tried the trail of PlayerPro, it allowed me to try all the features before i purchased a $5 app.
 
MegaYatzy FREE was my favorite timekiller; small footprint, no ads, clean game. Then they added one little banner that quickly disappeared. Then they upgraded again. The app still didn’t change but it added more banners and things (not) to tap. Then again and again. Evenutally, it was more of a headache than a fun timekiller.

I tried competing apps, but none had it down like this one... a shame it was destroying itself with excess marketing. Then I remembered something: I periodically copy my backups to my PC. I found an early version of this app there and installed it in place of the current one. Yay! I’ve recreated the past!

Anyway, the tip to OP is don’t release an early version that has no ads -- plan your attack and do it all at once. There are probably plenty of other clever droiders out there that have already figured out ‘my’ trick.

Edit: I should add that they do have a paid version, but not only do I not need it for reasons stated earlier, they offer no clue as to whether the ads go away for two bucks.

And: the current version is almost five megs. My older one is about half a meg and, as I said, plays the same game. Assuming there are lots of droiders with tiny phones like my Optimus, devs have to watch memory consumption too.
 
I don't really care if there are ads, annoying yes, but if the app/game is good enough and they have a paid version that gets rid of them I'll buy it.
 
I have no problem with ads that don't interfere with the operation of the app. Equally I am happy to buy apps that I know I want. If you're going to charge offer a free trial period or a free version with bonus features in a paid version.
 
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