Saw this today and now I’m reconsidering if Boost is right for me. I’m really hoping this is shitty boiler plate that was accidentally copied and over looked because that is some bullshit to say “unless we decide we want to use your personal data for whatever we want”.

I know “legitimate interest” is a phrase from the cookies law but there is no legitimate interest justification for this. My data is my data and I decide who has a legitimate interest in it so advertisers can fuck off, as can Boost if this the direction it’s going.


Edit to say this blew up. I didn’t realise I was kicking as big a hornet’s nest and haven’t read all the comments yet.

To be clear, what I don’t like about this and other provisions in the terms is the language and implications around data use. I’ve no problem with ads being shown - I want developers to get paid for the work they do and that makes it possible for users to have “free” access to software if they can’t afford to purchase.

I also want to add the response from Boost’s dev below to make sure it’s visible. You’ll see that it is boilerplate but required by Google and was present in Boost for reddit. I just hadn’t seen it because I purchased it immediately based on a recommendation. It doesn’t make me happy about it but does remove some doubts I was having about the direction Boost is heading.

I will be purchasing the app to support the dev because I do like Boost but I understand not everyone can afford everything so you’ll see some other suggestions in the comments below that don’t have any ads if you’re not happy with the free version and ads with their associated loss of data privacy.


Dev here.

The dialog and its content is not created by me, it is a standard solution from Google to comply with GDPR and other laws. More info here: https://support.google.com/admob/answer/10114014?hl=en

The consent dialog is also required by Google AdMob to show ads, and it is shown when the ad network is initialized.

When the app launches, first it checks for the remove ads purchase, and if it is not present, it will initialize the ads sdk. The ad network is not initialized if the remove ads purchase is detected.

Boost for Reddit was using the very same ad networks and consent dialog.

  • mhz@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    I was waiting for Boost release, but after reading this I must say goodbye Boost, I enjoyed using you in Reddit days.

    • Rubén@lemmy.worldM
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      Boost for Reddit was using the very same ad networks and consent dialog.

      • boyi@lemmy.sdf.org
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        1 year ago

        When the redditors jump to Lemmy, suddenly they become ads conscious.

      • stillwater@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Google AdMob requires this, specifically. One more reason for the bucket of why ads are bad.

      • mrpants@midwest.social
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        1 year ago

        And yet I can use many clients that don’t require this. So it is rmayayo even if indirectly.

        • Ktheone@lemmy.world
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          I mean yeah, but we can’t fault the guy, this app is probably his livelihood and he can’t stop Google from requiring the aforementioned consent dialog

          • pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyz
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            1 year ago

            Uh no, we can hold adults responsible for their actions. If his livelihood depends on exploiting and abusing his users, he needs to go find a better livelihood.

            • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
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              Showing ads = exploiting and abusing your users.

              In a free app. (if you pay, the admob library is no longer loaded)

              What a reddithottake right there.

              • Ktheone@lemmy.world
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                Seriously dude, some redditors like to jump onto a freaking conclusion without examining the situation correctly

              • hypelightfly@kbin.social
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                Showing ads = exploiting and abusing your users.

                Correct, well almost correct. It’s not showing ads that’s the problem. It’s the tracking needed to show targeted ads.

              • pinkdrunkenelephants@sopuli.xyz
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                I wasn’t talking about ads at all, but feel free to continue simping for a developer that clearly doesn’t give a fuck about you. The only one who’s going to suffer from it is you.

                • Carighan Maconar@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  Hey, I’m a programmer. I naturally get a bit pissed when people make comments such as this. I enjoy getting paid for my coding, I can hardly blame another developer for wanting to do the same. More so because hey, if you just buy the app, the ad library is never initialized. Just goes to show that users want their stuff for free and don’t understand the realities of most coding.

                  Not everyone gets to be a Mastodon or a LibreOffice or so. Most just sell some purchases or ads or subscriptions, usually all of them, and get by that way.

                  This is like the most silly thing to complain about. Just hit do-not-consent, be done with it. It’s just an ad network actually being forced by the EU to inform you that they’re doing their ad network stuff. You can say “It used to not be this way!”, which is true: Until very recently, you would simply not get informed about this. It’s as if you hit full-consent, every time, automatically.

            • Ktheone@lemmy.world
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              My bro, read his comment correctly before jumping on conclusions like this, I’m not trying to shill him, but Google forces this consent dialog screen about ad tracking on to apps like these. Ruben is just enabling ads, he’s not tracking your user data or anything, it’s Google who is forcibly doing that. And tbh, it isn’t FOSS, so you should know what you’re getting into and that it will feature ads as the dev is trying to earn his livelihood and the only way to avoid them is by purchasing the ad removal.

            • Polar@lemmy.ca
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              Comments like this make me hope Lemmy fails hard. You’re so ignorant. You want everything for free.

        • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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          Not everyone is thorough or scrupulous with their terms and conditions. Many use third party services that do these things, but don’t detail it fully in their terms.

    • Observer1199@lemmy.mlOP
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      I feel a big part of my concern is addressed by the dev’s explanation and I now know it’s a problem with Google’s ad network with its terms and conditions though they’re all pretty similar in that regard unfortunately. I feel comfortable enough purchasing the app now which removes the rest of my concern because that removes any tracking associated with ads in the free version.