I’ve always been amazed by how unusable the play store was. I’d actually like to browse apps sometimes, but it always was choke full of useless ads pushing the worst apps possible. I only go there once every blue moon when I exactly know what I want, download it and get out of there.
I’ll just point out this isn’t only an Android issue.
If there any IT person here who has had to direct an employee to download the Microsoft authenticator app from the iPhone App Store, you’ve almost certainly seen that it promotes a deceptively similar looking authenticator above the Microsoft one, and you have to make sure the user knows not to download it.
Not quite. If your currently connected devices are not (supposedly) compatible because then it will not show up even if it is still on the store.
Google doesnt even tell you that way and you might assume it’s not there.
I tried it multiple times and had no issues installing the apk from apkmirror and using the app.
Yeah, I’ve been geofenced from certain apps for forever for some reason. Google knows I’m German, Google knows I’m in Germany and yet I can’t download the official German gov Covid tracking app because “it isn’t available in your region”. So I’ve gotten quite familiar with the aurora store instead 🤷♂️
No, it did really happen. Usually with apps that didn’t have very high installation counts. I have first hand experience with it as the author and publisher of an app. People could literally search for the exact name of my app and get all kinds of other results, but not my app. I’d have to send them a direct link to the listing.
It had problems with the rate limited accounts for the last months, but I think they’re fixed now. I haven’t had any problem in the last weeks. If you keep getting these messages I’d recommend clearing app data and starting a new anonymous login session.
Ads in any kind of app store search should SUPER NOT BE ALLOWED. Microsoft does it, Google does it, even the Apple app store has it. I don’t want my grandma to be looking for her bank app and download Fast Cash Transfer Free 2024 Edition instead
I used to think the same thing: first three results or so are always ads, so just ignore. And then recently they’ve changed to be 90% ads even after the initial few. It’s hard to find something that someone hasn’t paid to display :(
I always imagine you people as the boomers on infomercials. Accidentally clicking shit, installing zero days from random sources, and just heavily fighting to practice cyber hygiene with commission unsuccessful results.
As a person that has a muscle memory for pressing the first row. I disagree with you here. I had to relearn pressing the actual app. For iOS I do not have this issue even though they also practice this as I had no muscle memory since I rarely use iPhone.
“You people”, very kind. As if people doing things on autopilot isn’t universal and implementations like these aren’t meant to trigger that exact thing. Read up on UX, and implementations of dark patterns. Perhaps have an attempt at empathy too.
“People like you” make the internet such a bad place sometimes. Generalizing, exaggerating, calling names…
Yeah that’s the part that is frustrating. It’s such an aggressive implementation of a dark pattern knowing the users muscle memory. It’s akin to suddenly switching the placement of ‘Accept’/‘Decline’ after years of being in the same place.
What surprises me is that it feels more like a money grab from a struggling app than the company in charge of ads across a large percentage of the world.
It’s not a subtle ad. Google has sold the top slots of your search to companies in exchange for money.
When your search for “Excel”, Google doesn’t try to find you the most relevant result. They find you the highest paying ad, and then what you’re searching for.
It pulls everything (apps, metadata, search results, etc.) directly from Google Play. It’s entirely free and open source and recommended by almost everyone in the Android and privacy community, so yes, it’s definitely legit.
Yeah. Some Android Custom ROMs ship Aurora instead of the Play Store. I try to get all of my apps from F-Droid, but when something isn’t available there and I can’t get it through Obtanium, I go with Aurora.
Yeah I think it’s pretty wack. If I search doordash then Uber eats will be the first result or if I search Uber eats then doordash will be the first result lol the ads are getting so extreme it pretty much evens out in the end and it’s all completely pointless aside from making everything more annoying for the user
Remember, the end user is always the one paying for the ads. Either by the company making you pay more for their products (Apple) or taking bigger cuts from whatever they mediate (Uber, Doordash).
If you buying their products or paying for their services - absolutely yes. If you are just seeing them, then it’s free 🤣
But, seriously - uBlock Origin, AdGuard, PiHole, use FOSS, buy brands that do not advertise (or do not advertise as much), use services that are known because they are good, not because they advertise themselves.
It’s not feasible or possible to 100% this, let’s be real, but partially possible and helps fbe whole picture.
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