BOLD Music Removes Targeted Ads and Tracking

If you've ever wondered how free apps make money, there can be multiple ways but one of the biggest and most popular ways is ads. Basically, a company pays an ad service (in this case Google) and in return, the ad service shows the company’s ads wherever they’re implemented. A developer (me) can implement this ad service’s ads into their app (BOLD Music) and the ad services pay the developer a very small fee (less than a cent). 

The problem is, however, that the more an ad shows what a user wants, the more they’ll click on it and buy the product. To show the right ad to the right user, the ad service tracks them. This means they can collect the user’s name, age, location, interests, hobbies, purchase history, and much more. Then, the ad service uses this information to serve the right ad.

The ad service also shares this information with other services and websites (that’s why it’s called tracking). If you go on a social media app and then an online store, the social media app can share what you were just looking at on their app with the online store. Then, the store can serve you an ad for a product you seem interested in. 

What’s more, different companies bid on users (yes, it’s actually called bidding). Whichever company pays the most and has the best predictability of being clicked by a user, is shown

This happens all the time, every day, and most people don’t even know it. By using an ad service, I became a part of the problem. I am very sorry about that. BOLD Music is developed and maintained by one college student, me. I used an ad service to generate some revenue to help with college, but after learning about the cost, I will never use one again. Nothing is worth that.

I plan, of course, on implementing these same values into all products by Jacob Cavin. ShutterCast and DrivePlay are also targeting and tracking free.

Please accept my full apologies. My hope has always been to make apps that help people, never hurt them. BOLD Music is a very small app, even so, we’re taking a stand. Please be aware of what’s happening around you and do what you can to put an end to it.

BOLD Music 3.2 is out now with major performace and stability improvements, removal of targeted ads, and design changes to Artists, Generes, and the Player. Update today on the App Store.