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AdBlock Plus BLOCKED from Google Play

Apps 'for rooted phones only' still on shelf of software shop - for now

Google has zapped the Android app version of AdBlock Plus from its Play store.

The ad giant has also kyboshed other ad-blocking applications from its online shop. Adblock Plus revealed the Chocolate Factory's snub in a blog post:

In a rather surprising move, Google removed Adblock Plus and other ad blocking apps from the Google Play store due to "interference with another service or product in an unauthorised manner".

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). 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 'unauthorised actions'.

The open source outfit said that existing users who had already installed Adblock Plus can continue to use the software but added that updates would no longer be pushed to the app. It advised users to install the next release from its website.

Developers behind the software said they would strip out Google Play code from the next version of AdBlock Plus. A new release of the software is expected to be flung out on 19 March. ®

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