Why the maker of a chart-topping ad blocker just pulled it off the App Store

Previous discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10240295

Interesting discussions today.

I feel strongly that,

1. Anyone who tells you it's not "ethical" to install an ad blocker is so far off it's not even funny.

2. In the long run, this will make the mobile web better. Same thing happened with popups.

If Marco doesn't provide an ad blocker app, someone else is going to do it. If he thinks he's gonna make a statement doing this, that statement is going to fall on deaf ears. Users keep indicating that they want ad blockers, even after hearing the same tired story that it will hurt content creators.

Pretty soon, you won't be able to rely on the ad networks for revenue. Then it's a matter of adapt or die. I think newspapers are better positioned to adapt than traditional web content, because newspapers have the experience of having sales people dedicated to selling ad space on the paper. Pivot those people to selling ads on the website, and roll your own ads, using your own designers and developers (who should make it easy for the sales people to rotate ads using a CMS).

The fight to save ad networks is a race against time that cannot be won.

This is the reason I still hate the concept of an App Store walled garden. The fact that anyone but me can apparently pull a program I paid for off of my device is indefensibly stupid.

I’m much more ok with ads than I am with tracking. Wish it was easier to have one without the other.

Can the maker of uBlock please set the Adblocker on iPhone/iPads free for everyone?