The problem is that Apple will remove the old app if we don't update it.
Listing it as a new app would be unfair to the existing customers as they'll need to make another purchase whenever they want to get the updated version.
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Apple Cracking Down on VPN-Based Ad Blockers That Work in Third-Party Apps
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The problem is that Apple will remove the old app if we don't update it.
Listing it as a new app would be unfair to the existing customers as they'll need to make another purchase whenever they want to get the updated version.
The updated version will actually be a downgrade since it will be without the block feature people purchased your app for. Might as well just make a new app and leave the current one as is. Do you think people who purchased the app would be happy when they find out AdGuard Pro was auto updated to a new version without the key feature and there's no way to ever get it back since no future update will include it and there's no downgrade on app updates on the App Store?
I'd be happy to purchase an app from you again for your continued support in ad/tracker blocking.
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Please push an new app. I haven't yet purchased your pro app but if you can promise not to update the current app, I'll buy it rightaway just to have the dummy VPN.
Maybe find a way for existing pro users to download the new app without having to pay for premium functions again?
It does not mean we won't ever update it and it will ever stay as it is. Moreover, the old version will be removed from the app store, so once you get a new device, you won't be able to restore it.
Once we handle all the urgent issues, we'll come up with a sideloading instruction.
If someone has downloaded the app, you are able to restore it. Even if its removed from the App Store, it remains in purchased.
Thanks, I didn't know about it!
Guys, let's just wait a bit and see how the new build review goes. It's possible that we'll be able to keep DNS filtering functionality. In this case, tech-savvy users will be able to set it up to work exactly as the current version.
It won't appear in Purchased if an app is removed globally. You can look up an article about this change on MacRumors.
Please don't submit a new update. Leave this as is. You can try a different approach by submitting a new app with a different name. I'm sure a lot of your customers will be extremely mad when they find out you remove the key feature with no way to revert back ever.
I might be wrong but when flappy bird was removed from App Store people could still get it as long as you already owned it.
I guess it was only happening for a short period of time. This is an update to apps disappearing from Purchased:
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/App+Store/news.asp?c=67839
The original story about it: http://www.idownloadblog.com/2015/10/07/app-store-apps-disappearing-purchase-history/
So apps will remain downloadable in Purchased. More reason for Adguard Pro not to submit an update.
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I would trust Adguard team to do what is best, given their long term commitment in the business. Making a new app with a different name will be confusing to many users and that will not benefit their brand name. It's much worse to leave an app not updated. Sooner or later the iOS update or improvements at Adguard backend will break it... unless one likes to have the phone and all apps frozen in time. There are plenty of unethical developers who charge $2, $3, $4 for their adblockers but abandoning their update altogether (feel free to choose them if anyone doesn't want frequent update). That makes me really appreciative of Adguard's excellent support and commitment. Sometimes, I'm just worried if they can sustain their business just by charging such a tiny fee of $0.99/$1.99 for pro version and gave out normal version for free! I bought their pro version on day 1 not just for the vpn, I think they deserved to be paid even with the free version.
Same here I was using adguard on android the pro version was £7.99 which to block ads was a bargain to me. I would pay more if they found away round this apple crap.
In a regular VPN, we can assume you connect to an end point you actually know well and trust; in the case, many people don't even know these things use a VPN. That's the main difference.
Https only encrypts the communication, if you have some script connecting somewhere insecure on the same page (like serving an ad (or removing it) you could still leak out info in that page. This was a major problem before although web developers are now more savvy about it and many have fixed the issue.
This can be avoided now in javascript by sandboxing certain part of the web pages from another (if people actually programmed it that way).
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That article specifies apps delisted by developers though. In this case, it would Apple, not the developer, delisting.
That certainly makes sense, seeing as how Apple has always been an advertising company
(yes, sarcasm)
First of all thanks for being a developer that actively monitors feedback through this forum, that's pretty rare.
I paid for Adblock which stopped working lately, and one of my apps has very invasive full screen video ads + background audio so I need something that works well. I paid for AdGuard Pro today and works fine so far. I have downloaded the .ipa for future use if it's removed from the App Store.
I'm sure there is some way to let old paid users upgrade to a new app at no extra charge, like forward you the email receipt or something.
It appears Apple may be cracking down on some VPN-based ad blockers that are designed to block ads in third-party apps, based on a recent interaction iOS developer Tomasz Koperski had with Apple's App Store review team.
Koperski is the CTO of Future Mind, a software company that produces AdBlock, Weblock, and Admosphere, three ad blocking apps. When submitting an update for AdBlock for iOS, a VPN-based ad blocking app, it was rejected.
Upon appeal to the App Review Board, Koperski was told Apple is no longer allowing VPN/root certificate-based ad blockers on the App Store and will not be accepting updates of existing ad blockers that use those techniques going forward. According to Apple, Future Mind's AdBlock app violates section 4.2 of the App Store Review Guidelines, which dictates that apps must be useful, unique, and "app-like."
Specifically, the app violated section 4.2.1, which says "Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and should indicate that integration in their app description," and to get even more specific, Future Mind was told the update was rejected because "Your app uses a VPN profile or root certificate to block ads or other content in a third-party app, which is not allowed on the App Store."
Koperski was told that Safari content blockers, introduced in iOS 9, will be the only Apple-supported ad blockers going forward, and those ad blockers are limited to use in the Safari web browser.Koperski says that the change marks a major shift in Apple's ad blocking policy, as Future Mind has had its ad blocking products in the App Store for the past five years. AdBlock, the app that Apple rejected, has been available for purchase since 2014, and it was one of the first VPN-based ad blockers able to block ads in all apps locally on both Wi-Fi and Cellular.
There are dozens of similar ad blocking apps available in the App Store at the current time, some that were updated as recently as June. It's not clear why Apple has changed its policy after so many years, but many apps, including native apps like Apple News, feature ads as a way to monetize.
Apple has recently undertaken a major overhaul of the App Store, eliminating clone apps, outdated apps, and more, so it's possible this new crackdown is a part of that effort. Since late 2015, Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller has been overseeing the App Store and has enacted some significant changes.
Future Mind was told the AdBlock app could be updated if it switches from ad blocking via VPN to the Safari Content Blocker, but the company is worried about upsetting customers who paid for the ability to block ads in both Safari and in apps. The company has not yet decided what to do and is mulling several possible choices, including leaving the app as is, expanding existing functionality into a VPN service, or transitioning to a Safari-only blocker.
Article Link: Apple Cracking Down on VPN-Based Ad Blockers That Work in Third-Party Apps
As long as you have the app in it's current functionality, it will continue to work. You just have to be careful not to update to the version that will eventually take away the VPN adblocking features.