YSK: Lemmy browsing app Boost is tracking your data for profiling and more! Consider using other trackingless Lemmy apps such as Jerboa or Voyager

This is a rather sensationalist headline.

Every so often software developers need to eat food and live beneath shelter.

The developer of Boost @rmayayo@lemmy.world provides a free version that's supported by ads, or you can purchase an ad free experience for a one time cost. That's been a standard business since forever.

There isn't any grand conspiracy here.

As the other comments are saying, this is made very clear when you launch the app for the first time that it is ad supported, and you can donate a small amount to get all tracking and ads removed.

Love the app and I want the dev to continue development so I paid for the ad free. Devs are people and need money to live too, you know this post was just sensationalized for your own clicks.

Yeah there is a dialogue on first launch telling you it's ad supported software and that you can pay a small fee to remove all ads. Your post here is old news about an old strategy and throughout the comments here you claim it's secretive which is false.

It's a charitable reading to say you're uninformed. I would lean more toward you wanting people to be misinformed about Boost, because as others point out, its ad support is called out in multiple ways before you use it, but you don't care. Instead, you choose to call this completely common and standard way of supporting an app "predatory" and "secret", neither of which near truth. Op, is your account the alt of the Sync dev or something?

You can do a one time purchase to remove the ads and tracking you know, monetising an app without ads is hard.

YSK also that the paid version does not have ads or trackers

What a cool service, thanks for sharing. You can also check the Exodus database via web if you can't or don't want to install the native Android app.

I've seen this kind of post about boost several times now. It's just sad that people are just maliciously uninformed. It made me want to support the dev even more. Paying for the ad free version now.

Good work bringing this to the attention of others.

I agree that Jerboa is good. If anyone wants another option, then Connect For Lemmy is clean, simple, and updated frequently. I'm nothing to do with Connect, just someone that has tried loads of Lemmy apps on Android, and has settled on Connect.

i mean, it's just ads. you're blowing this way out of proportion just because of some unintrusive ads.

devs gotta eat. if you prefer FOSS, that's great! i love FOSS software too! but boost is like home to me, even with the ads.

There is a reason so many Lemmy apps are abandoned, they were free and free of advertising. Devs need to eat. I prefer the paid app model to support the devs as opposed to ads. The dev of boost has always been open about how ads work.

Thanks. Just uninstalled it.

You will only pry Boost from my phone over my cold dead hands.

YSK that, in general, you should only ever use Android apps from F-Droid unless you've got a very good justification for doing otherwise. That's especially true for generic/basic utility apps like calculators, calendars, and file managers, classic games like solitaire or tetris, and Lemmy clients.

I guess I'm just legitimately confused about how to feel about it all. Lemmy is free, signing up on an instance is free, people are posting/creating content for free, moderators are taking care of the space for free. No one's locking in to get "fed" through the entire chain. The arguments about abandoned apps doesn't really compute since plenty paid and advertising friendly apps go under/stop developing further as well (and the entire Lemmy eco-system is free so silly points of "capitalism better"). There's also the crux of "Apps just replace a webpage", they're really not reinventing the wheel here.

But, if people prefer paid apps, if the developers want to construct the apps in that manner, have at it. I do think spreading awareness of what apps are out there is important, and how they operate (this is YSK after all). I also wouldn't spend time in my day coming into defend organizations that want to monetize on open source community projects either.

ive been on Voyager and i like it very much. is there a known better option, or my first choice was a solid? thanks

Aside from what everyone else has said regarding the ads: Boost is an amazing app and I don't browse Lemmy without it!

Raccoon is also a great alternative for trackerless Lemmy browsing, I personally prefer it over Jerboa and Voyager.

Yeah that's why I use the duckduckgo app tracking protection

On join-lemmy there is small warning for every closed source app

I remembered Boost from the good old days a while back and am using it alongside voyager. It's not as great as I remembered, so I'll probably stick with Voyager. My home network keeps me safe of ads though 😉

Stop using boost ages ago. The lack of updates makes the app unusable hardly usable anyway.

This reads like a paid advertisement.

Glad I stick with Thunder.

I have no problems with devs making money on their work. But ads are a privacy violation for me.

If Thunder ever went this route I'd immediately fork.

Voyager is pretty good but mr. Voyager developer, for the love of god, add some left-right margin! I don't know why but this makes me irrationally angry to the point I simply can't use Voyager

Or you can buy Boost and get rid of the ad/tracking.

Boost is brilliant and other apps still have catching up to do but the competition is getting better and better.

Would like to throw thunder_app@lemmy.world in the ring as an alternative

An up front paid app for devs trying to make money off of the lemmyverse? Sure, okay. A free version by devs trying to make the world a better place? You're a literal hero. Devs doing shady tracking like this? Never ever.

Boost is the best!

Launch the Rocket! 🚀

Or just use a browser, ffs.

everything doesnt need to be an app.

especially when its nothing but a goddamn webbrowser, wrapped in an app, with less protection.

Ooh, that app is fun! I also recommend Eternity for a Lemmy app (or just Fennec and ublock- not that my lemmy instance has anything to worry about)

I also love the difference in apps I got from the Play Store vs Neo store.

Also, ExpressVPN with 2 trackers? Shame. Mullvad wins again.

What about connect?

I use Sync. Does it track my data too?

i use lemmy on firefox browser mobile and desktop?

Jerboa is better apps

I’ve not found a similar service to Exodus for iOS devices (yeah, I know, but that’s what I’ve got) but to the best of my knowledge Mlem is a pretty good alternative to Boost on apple devices, and the best user-experience I’ve so far found

My favorite app is Firefox 😉

(or alternatively: Tor - its also great, many Lemmy instances are Tor friendly)

God damnit, I use this app

Lemmy looks and works fine in a mobile browser; why do you even need an app?

!thunder_app@lemmy.world is great.

ok. I don't mind. this does not bother me at all.

Big fan Of Sync, but idk if it has tracking

https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/reports/search/com.rubenmayayo.reddit/

I find it funny that one app is called Jerboa which is a local delicacy in Najd and other parts of the Arabian Peninsula.

I am personally happy with the web app.

What about "Eternity"? I love it for Lemmy and no ads

Awesome and smooth UI

you guys are not blocking trackers?