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I find this response kind of puzzling. I'm telling you about my subjective use of iOS. As far as I'm concerned, the App Store is a core part of iOS. iOS isn't a useful OS without the App Store. I can't install apps or manually update them without seeing ads. It's not really a matter of definitions, it's simply a matter of how I use iOS.

I've prefaced all my comments on this subject by pointing out that I'm describing my experience. And in my experience, despite my best effort to avoid ads, I'm forced to see more (and lower quality) ads on iOS than I am on Windows.




It completely makes sense to find ads for apps in the App Store.


Sure, it makes sense. They’re still intrusive, unavoidable, unwanted, and make the experience worse.

It would also “make sense” for “sudo apt install firefox” to show me an Google-sponsored ad to instead consider Chrome.


This topic is not about ads in app stores, it’s about ads in unavoidable interfaces that you must interact with on a daily basis, like the Start Menu, security icons, explorer windows, etc. the App Store in iOS can easily be moved into a folder and never looked at again unless you want to install a new app.

Nobody is saying the App Store ads aren’t annoying, but I am saying that it’s nowhere near the same level of intrusiveness as these Windows changes, because you can easily avoid the App Store, and when you do open it you know what to expect.


I understand what this topic is about; the App Store is an unavoidable interface that I have to regularly interact with.

I would love it if Apple provided an alternate method to install and update apps on iOS that didn’t involve the App Store.

The relative intrusiveness of start menu ads is, for me, much lower than the App Store ads, as the start menu ads (and its connectivity to the web in general) can easily be toggled off.


I think most users of both would disagree with you.


I mean, that’s basically just a judgement call of how many users leave their start menu ads enabled. Obviously if you leave them enabled you’re going to find them more intrusive than App Store ads, and if you disable them you’re going to find them less intrusive than App Store ads.


I don't see ads in F-droid, so clearly it doesn't make that much sense.




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