14 DAY TRIAL // It's only been a few days since Samsung announced plans to launch an ad blocker for Galaxy smartphones and it looks like the company's decision is doomed to fail.
Well, not really, but at the moment Google doesn't allow the application that would enable this feature in Samsung smartphones to go live in Play store.
If you're not familiar with the subject, then you should know that Samsung announced earlier this week that it would enable ad blocking features in its mobile browser.
Samsung Internet browser version 4 would allow those who own compatible Galaxy smartphones to block ads with the use of an application called Adblock Fast.
The application is not yet available in Google Play Store, but Samsung and developer Rocketship Apps promised that would be rectified in the coming days.
No ad blocking apps made it to Play Store and remained for too long
Not so fast Samsung, says Google. The search giant reviewed Adblock Fast application before giving it the green light to be released on Play Store and sent the following email to its developers (via The Verge):
“Hi Developers at Rocketship Apps,
“I reviewed Adblock Fast, com.rocketshipapps.adblockfast, and found that it violates section 4.4 of the Developer Distribution Agreement. This particular app has been disabled as a policy strike.
“Just as a reminder, you’ve agreed to follow the Google Play Developer Program Policies and additional enforcement could occur if there are further policy issues with your apps.
“If you’ve reviewed the policies and feel this rejection may have been in error, please reach out to our policy support team. One of my colleagues will get back to you within 2 business days.
“I appreciate your support of Google Play!”
The reason Adblock Fast will not be allowed on Play Store, the violation of developer guidelines to which Google refers in the email above, suggests the search giant will never let a third-party app that blocks ads belonging to another company to exist on its store.
It's unclear whether or not Rocketship Apps will be able to create a workaround for the issue, but for the time being Samsung users shouldn't expect the adblocking feature to arrive on their smartphone anytime soon.