Ad-Blocking Apps Pulled From Google Play

Google is removing from Google Play any apps that allow for ad blocking.

According to Android Police, developers with apps that can block ads on Google's mobile OS have been informed that their apps are no longer available on Google Play.

Android Police pointed to AdAway, which is described as "an open source ad blocker for Android using the hosts file." AdAway said in a recent post on the Google developers site that it "received an email from Google Play that AdAway was removed due to 'Violation of section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement.'" AdAway urged users to "switch to F-Droid, the open alternative to Google Play!"

Meanwhile, Jared Rummler, developer of ROM Toolbox, Android Overclock and other apps, tweeted yesterday that he "got a notification from Google and it looks like all Ad Blockers were removed from Google Play today."

When asked about the app removals, a Google spokeswoman said "we remove apps from Google Play that violate our policies."

Section 4.4 prohibits any app that "interferes with, disrupts, damages, or accesses in an unauthorized 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."

Another app that got kicked out of Google Play was AdBlock Plus, which "blocks all online advertising when browsing, and when using your favorite apps like Angry Birds," according to a cached version of its Google Play listing. For more, see the video below.

"This looks like a course change at Google, until recently the main distinction between Android and iPhone was that Android allowed you to install any app as long as it wasn't malicious (meaning that it's obvious what the app does)," AdBlock developer Wladimir Palant wrote in a blog post. "Google Play still allows apps stating 'for rooted phones only' but I wonder whether these are next on the list to be removed – each of them performs 'unauthorized actions.'"

Palant said that users who already have AdBlock installed can continue to use it, but they won't get updates, so "should install our next release from our website once it is out," he said. AdBlock will also be submitted to alternative app stores.

Sophos analyst Paul Ducklin speculated in a blog post that the move "raises the spectre of a future ban against third-party anti-virus and security software" - like those from Sophos. "After all, many Android security add-ons include features allowing users to control a range of potentially unwanted activities," he wrote.

"To be fair to Google, of course, a ban from the Play Store doesn't prevent you from using the banned app altogether, as it would on Planet Apple," Ducklin continued. "Google still gives you the choice to install software from alternative online markets."