BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Google And Samsung At War Over Ads

This article is more than 8 years old.

Samsung launched an Ad Blocker for its phones on the Google Play store called Adblock Fast earlier this week. Google has since pulled the app, claiming that it's in breach of the developer agreement. Specifically section 4.4, which prevents apps from messing with third-party services. It reads:

You agree that you will not engage in any activity with the Store, including the development or distribution of Products, that interferes with, disrupts, damages or accesses in an unauthorised manner the devices, servers, networks or other properties or services of any third party including, but not limited to, Android users, Google or any mobile network operator. You may not use customer information obtained from the Store to sell or distribute Products outside of the Store.

The app had, apparently, reached some 50,000 downloads before Google flipped the switch. Samsung doesn't appear to list the app on its own app store, which is beyond strange given that it only works with Samsung's mobile browser anyway.

In the past Google has pulled other ad blockers from Google Play. In 2013 Google went on a little mission, removing AdBlock Plus from the store along with some other, similar, products. Although in 2015 AdBlock Plus was able to get back into the Play store and is still there.

The reason Ablock Plus has survived is that Google does allow ad blockers if they are within their own, self-contained browser. So what was it about this app that didn't qualify for the exception, given that it was only accessible through Samsung's browser and couldn't affect either Android's OEM app, or Google's Chrome. Is this move another sign of the fraught relationship that Google and Samsung have?

With all that said, it's no real surprise that Google does its best to kill off ad blockers. The company derives a huge percentage of its operating product from ad sales and related business. The more people try and block ads, the less money Google makes, and that's bad for a company which has just risen to one of the world's most valuable businesses.

And Ad blocking is, naturally, a real problem for publishers too. Forbes recently tried an ad-lite experience for users who agreed to turn off their blockers. It had some issues of its own, and Lewis DVorkin, Chief Product Officer for Forbes Media, has written openly and honestly about those in recent Forbes posts.

The dilemma we all have, of course, is that online content has to be paid for somehow, and those of us who make a living from writing online are all too aware of that. As a point of principle I've now disabled my ad blocker and I now endure ads to show support for publishers and to avoid being a hypocrite. I can tell you though, the web is a much worse place for me now.

How will Samsung and Google resolve this? The simplest solution would be for Samsung to simply put its own browser into the Google Play store, with Adblock Fast built-in. As the next version of Samsung's phones rolls out it can simply build the ad blocker into its version of Android. Google can't do anything to stop that, although it's unlikely to reduce tensions between the two companies.

Follow me on LinkedIn