Google has made its position on ad blocking applications pretty clear: Don’t. Several developers have had their ad blocking apps deleted or updates denied in recent days, following new protocol set up by Samsung for its Internet browser.
Samsung announced Monday it enabled ad blocking support in the API of its Internet browser. This move follows in the steps of Apple, which set up a similar feature for its Safari browser as of iOS 9. Since then several ad blocking apps have been added to the Apple App Store.
However, Google, which has a business model that primarily runs on add revenue, is not keen to support the new feature for Android devices. One application, called Adblock Fast, quickly became the top free download on the Google Play Store; however, the app has been removed. Google sites a violation of Section 4.4 of the Android Developer Distribution Agreement for why the app was removed. The section states that apps cannot disrupt the functionality of other applications. However, Brian Kennish, CEO of Rockship Apps, which developed Adblock Fast is confused because his company partnered with Samsung to have the plugin work specifically with Samsung’s internet browser, according to 9to5Google.
At this time, Google's comments on the situation remain vague. “While we don’t comment on specific apps, we can confirm that our policies are designed to provide a great experience for users and developers,” Google said in a statement to TechCrunch .
At this time, the Adblock Fast website includes a mailing list for users to sign up to find out when the plugin is once again available for download. Kennish told 9to5Google that he has contacted Google but has been unsuccessful in getting a clear answer on how his application violates Google’s rules. The CEO said he believes Google has rejected his app because its popularity could affect the company’s ad revenue.
Adblock Fast had more than 50,000 downloads and was rated 4.25 within days of being added to the Google Play Store.
