this post was submitted on 26 Sep 2023
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Boost For Lemmy

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This is not ok (lemmy.ml)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
 

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.

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[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Over 300 comments.....I've never even seen so many in boost subreddit wtf. Did everyone from lemmy come here?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It was post #1 on my 'All' feed, sorted by 'Active'. Not sure how it got there, but now ... maybe yes.

I also hate 'legitimate interest' from the bottom of my heart. If you need to make it so hard for people to say 'no', or even outright ignore their wish, maybe reconsider your business practices.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

Seems like it's required by google admob to show any ads at all according to dev. Closed sourced software with an ad version option is becoming a nightmare for foss folks. Those devs don't seem to have many options anymore to profit from their work in a privacy friendly way. A bit concerning.

I'm all for devs wanting to profit from their work since they are putting work into it and not everyone wants to open source the work they put countless hours into. Foss only folks have many other options compared to reddit where the number of popular open source apps aren't that many.

But ad versions sadly seems to be very privacy unfriendly right now.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Hopefully it gets some more people onboard with Boost. IMO: was best reddit app. So, far it's been great. Minor glitch that i noticed is not clearing the inbox when tapping the double βœ”οΈβœ”οΈ.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

I'm a bit of a noobie here, but yeah, it was one of the top comments on the sync front page

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago

I guess all us now active boost users pushed it, though I didn't know there was an active boost subreddit.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Lemmy got (a) Boost

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The app just came out. There's bound to be a lot of initial interest.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It is the first post I see

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Federation. You’re also not on reddit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

I know that I'm not on reddit......

I'm just pointing out the boost subreddit from reddit never got this many comments in any posts. I know the reason is federation and people sorting by ALL here often compared to sorting by subscriptions in reddit