Is this even allowed?

Sleuth@lemmy.world to Android@lemmy.world – 248 points –

This crap is completely unacceptable.

The app has 10M+ downloads, and is already filled with ads as it is. I DO NOT want and WILL NEVER want ads as push notifications.

I'm quite sure this isn't allowed on the playstore according to the Play Console Help page. Which states:

Ads must not simulate or impersonate the user interface of any app feature, such as notifications or warning elements of an operating system. It must be clear to the user which app is serving each ad.

And shows this picture:

I now consider GPS Speedometer malware, immediate uninstall.

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For simple apps like that I usually check out F-droid see if any open source versions exist. Might not be as feature rich but there's two GPS speedometer apps on there

Status Bar Speedometer (Display your current speed as notification) https://f-droid.org/packages/ch.rmy.android.statusbar_tacho/

Blue Square Speedometer (Simple speedometer & GPS viewer) https://f-droid.org/packages/net.nhiroki.bluesquarespeedometer/

When it comes to android apps I always look for open source stuff first. Literally just save the headache of dealing with bot-reviews, ads in app, etc.

Thanks for the reccs. I don't need it to do much more than give me my speed so these'll work great!

Yeah, this seems like a sketchy way of pushing adds. I'm fairly sure ads shouldn't be pushed in the notification tray.

Your last statement is probably the safest route.

Serious question, why are you using an app called "gps speedometer"? Anyway, this is why i always download apps from F-Droid.

This is the way, for every flashlight type of app, F-Droid or nothing. The Play Store is riddled with this easy malicious apps.

Bahaha are you kidding me?

This is so egregiously annoying that it's almost funny. Hopefully the app gets taken down for breaking PlayStore TOS.

Yep that’s an uninstall and 1 star review for sure.

Yeah, this seems like a sketchy way of pushing adds. I’m fairly sure ads shouldn’t be pushed in the notification tray.

Your last statement is probably the safest route.

Did you report the app?

I'm trying but I keep getting "Error loading workflow. Please try again in a few minutes".

I think this is outrageous and I fully support uninstalling this app and leaving a bad review.

However, if you really cannot go without this app, android has a very easy-to-use notification control system. Depending on the app, you may even be able to only turn off ad-notifications while keeping all the other proper notifications working. Just long-press on any notification from the app to access the settings

That app is definitely malware, be careful when donwloading stuff!

If you want an additional layer of protection I strongly suggest using a private DNS like Nextdns.io or adguard-dns.io, which are basically system-wide adblockers. Less ads and less risks to your privacy/security.

If you end up using them I strongly suggest enabling only the regional lists and the OISD list, nothing else (since too many lists could slow down your navigation and/or block stuff you need)

And if you like tinkering with things, you can install a Pi-hole on a local Raspberry.

Got the same ad this morning. Instant uninstall.

Flag as Inappropriate on the app store and review it 1 star or 2 star to avoid mass deletions due to brigading

Just fyi, Google Maps has a GPS speedometer, but you need to nagivate somewhere

I use a firewall app. Netguard in my case. And apps which clearly should not need internet access are blocked there. Usually makes a lot of apps ad free as they fail to download ads.