Marco Arment Pulls His Ad-Blocker Peace from the iOS App Store

I wrote yesterday about how to use ad blockers in iOS 9, and I explained my feeling about the question of whether one should block ads or not. It’s not a question with an easy answer.

Marco Arment, who’s Peace ad-blocker shot to the top of the charts, today decided to pull the app from the App Store. In a blog post, Marco says:

Achieving this much success with Peace just doesn’t feel good, which I didn’t anticipate, but probably should have. Ad blockers come with an important asterisk: while they do benefit a ton of people in major ways, they also hurt some, including many who don’t deserve the hit.

This is a delicate situation. We’re being inundated by very bad and intrusive ads, yet we still want to support website whose content we read. It’s going to take a real shake-up for this to be settled, and ad-blockers on mobile devices will probably lead to new ways of monetizing websites.

22 thoughts on “Marco Arment Pulls His Ad-Blocker Peace from the iOS App Store

  1. I bought this blocker not 12 hours ago. His moral issues should have been thought through before releasing this app. It’s only a few dollars but it’s disappointing behaviour.as it won’t be updated and will become less effective. I’m going to seek a refund, as is my right.

  2. I bought this blocker not 12 hours ago. His moral issues should have been thought through before releasing this app. It’s only a few dollars but it’s disappointing behaviour.as it won’t be updated and will become less effective. I’m going to seek a refund, as is my right.

  3. Really? Seriously? Didn’t feel good?

    Maybe he didn’t read the “Top Ten Reasons Your Web Site Sucks” … or “You know your web site sucks if . . . ” — because ads are at the very top of most everyone’s list.

    The new “Click Bait” industry, and the web’s unquenchable thirst for money is the advertising industry’s own fault. If they hadn’t given away the shop back when they prostituted themselves, it would probably be more civil today.

    We’re seeing very popular sites these days where 80% of the screen real estate are ads, with hardly any space left for content. Too many are stalker and predator ads. Too many allow compromises and drive-by malware.

    And who isn’t annoyed by those sites where the video blocks the content, and plays with rude, loud soundtrack, and when you click the X to close it, suddenly TWO more spam screens pop up. (Can you say P*O*R*N?) Or the ad follows you down the page until you have to click to get rid of it? Or the ad won’t let you leave the page.

    Sheesh. If he feels bad about blocking ads, he should visit http://www.ZDnet.com In the first 15 seconds, he’ll be ready to reinstate his app.

    🙂

    http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/page_sucks_if/spinning_pop_ups.jpg

  4. Really? Seriously? Didn’t feel good?

    Maybe he didn’t read the “Top Ten Reasons Your Web Site Sucks” … or “You know your web site sucks if . . . ” — because ads are at the very top of most everyone’s list.

    The new “Click Bait” industry, and the web’s unquenchable thirst for money is the advertising industry’s own fault. If they hadn’t given away the shop back when they prostituted themselves, it would probably be more civil today.

    We’re seeing very popular sites these days where 80% of the screen real estate are ads, with hardly any space left for content. Too many are stalker and predator ads. Too many allow compromises and drive-by malware.

    And who isn’t annoyed by those sites where the video blocks the content, and plays with rude, loud soundtrack, and when you click the X to close it, suddenly TWO more spam screens pop up. (Can you say P*O*R*N?) Or the ad follows you down the page until you have to click to get rid of it? Or the ad won’t let you leave the page.

    Sheesh. If he feels bad about blocking ads, he should visit http://www.ZDnet.com In the first 15 seconds, he’ll be ready to reinstate his app.

    🙂

    http://www.graphic-design.com/Web/page_sucks_if/spinning_pop_ups.jpg

  5. 1) Convert someone else’s blocklist
    2) Make a ton of money in a short duration of time by going viral
    3) Immediately pull away before any possible legal issues arise
    4) Post a link to get a refund knowing that it is solely Apple’s choice whether to refund or not, and knowing that maybe 1 in 50 buyers would even submit a refund request
    5) Cite moral reasons

    Jeez, what a saint. Clearly he had no idea how adblockers work, but now that people informed him he’s totally not okay with that.

  6. 1) Convert someone else’s blocklist
    2) Make a ton of money in a short duration of time by going viral
    3) Immediately pull away before any possible legal issues arise
    4) Post a link to get a refund knowing that it is solely Apple’s choice whether to refund or not, and knowing that maybe 1 in 50 buyers would even submit a refund request
    5) Cite moral reasons

    Jeez, what a saint. Clearly he had no idea how adblockers work, but now that people informed him he’s totally not okay with that.

What do you think?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.