HiddenApps lets you disable iAds and hide stock Apple apps, no jailbreak required

By Christian Zibreg on Mar 11, 2013

Occasionally, an app escapes the watchful eye of Apple’s review team and gets released on the App Store despite ignoring Apple’s stringent rules for third-party iOS development. HiddenApps by David Goelzhaeuser, a 15-year-old German iOS developer, is one such example.

The whole point of this free application is to let you hide Apple’s stock apps from your Home screen, like Passbook, Newsstand or Stocks – no jailbreak required.

It can also disable Apple’s iAds altogether and give you access to a Field Test mode which gives you precise readings of your cellular signal strength. You better download as it’s going down in 5, 4, 3, 2… Read More

 

How to limit ad tracking in iOS 6

By Cody Lee on Oct 11, 2012

There’s been a lot of talk recently regarding advertisers tracking iOS users, more or less, without their knowledge. Earlier this week we showed you how to opt out of Verizon’s (and AT&T’s) info-sharing program.

But even if you’ve withdrawn your device from carrier data tracking systems, there’s a good chance that advertisers are still watching you through Apple’s iAd network. So if that concerns you, here’s what to do… Read More

 

Apple posts new iAd promo video flaunting Land Rover’s success

By Cody Lee on Aug 6, 2012

Apple’s iAd platform got off to a rocky start back in 2010, and has struggled to impress advertisers ever since. It’s tried slashing ad prices, and upping developer revenue share, but it still feels like an afterthought to other avenues.

However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not a viable option. And to prove that, Apple just posted a new promotional video for its iAd service, touting the success seen by luxury auto-maker Land Rover, as it’s utilized iAd in a new campaign… Read More

 

Former iAd VP Andy Miller now heads 3D motion-control startup Leap Motion

By Christian Zibreg on Jul 17, 2012

As noted by The Next Web, Apple’s former chief of iAd unit Andy Miller became chief operating officer at Leap Motion, the company wrote in a release. Miller founded mobile advertising startup Quattro Wireless whose chief rival at the time had been AdMob, later acquired by Google.

When Cupertino snapped up his company in January 2010, Miller was named the head of Apple’s iAd platform. He left last August amid talk that iAd was going nowhere. Now, Leap Motion is a very interesting company, especially their Kinect-like device (video right after the break)… Read More

 

Apple ups developer iAd revenue share to 70%

By Cody Lee on Apr 1, 2012

As noted by 9to5Mac, Apple has announced that developers will now start receiving 70% of the revenue generated by iAds in their applications. That’s a 10% increase over the 60% cut they received in the previous arrangement.

The move isn’t surprising considering how much trouble the mobile advertising service has had gaining traction. Apple has even had to adjust the numbers for advertisers, dropping the entry-level price from $1 million to $100,000… Read More

 

Apple Hires Adobe Executive to Run iAds

By Sebastien Page on Jan 4, 2012

Apple reportedly hired Adobe executive Todd Teresi to run the iAds business unit, which had been ran by Eddie Cue since August, when Andy Miller stepped down to join a VC firm:

Apple has poached Adobe executive Todd Teresi to run its iAds program, Adam Satariano at Bloomberg reports.

According to LinkedIn, Teresi is a VP and GM of Media Solutions at Adobe. Prior to that he was Chief Revenue Officer at Quantcast. (Before that, he was SVP at Yahoo.)

We wish him good luck. Given the moderate success of iAds, he’ll certainly need it.

 

Apple is Trying to Make iAd More Attractive to Advertisers

By Alex Heath on Dec 13, 2011

Apple has continued to lose ground to Google in online advertising after the launch of iAd. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is trying to make its iAd platform more attractive to potential advertisers.

Having originally asked marketers to commit to spend at least $1 million—an amount later dropped to $500,000—Apple is now discussing ad deals with a minimum commitment of just $400,000, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Apple has also introduced more flexibility to a pricing structure that had befuddled advertisers, ad executives say. Instead of charging marketers every time a user taps on an ad—a policy which often led to ad budgets quickly being exhausted—Apple is willing to put a cap on what it charges for the taps, according to the person. Advertisers pay $10 every time an ad is viewed a thousand times and $2 every time it is tapped on.

This new pricing structure will hopefully give iAd a fighting chance against Google’s AdMob service.

 

Apple’s iAd Struggles to Gain Traction, Prices Slashed

By Oliver Haslam on Jul 8, 2011

Apple’s iAd mobile advertising platform is currently struggling to gain traction, with cut price deals now available, according to reports.

Launched back in April 2010, iAd was dubbed ‘mobile ads with emotion’ by Apple CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs, just before he slapped a minimum ad buy-in price of $1 million on the service.

Now though, it seems Apple has lowered its targets for iAd considerably, with the original $1 million price a distant memory… Read More

 

Apple no Longer Serving iAds to Kids, Seriously Impacts Some Developers

By Cody Lee on May 11, 2011

I’m sure everyone is familiar with iAds by now. The service that Apple launched last year promised to change the way customers interact with advertisements. As with a lot of new ventures, the mobile ad platform got off to a rocky start.

Advertisers didn’t like the mandatory $1,000,000 buy-in on top of several other complaints. Finally, Apple compromised and made some serious adjustments to iAds, in favor of its partners. They cut the buy-in in half and even created an app showcasing iAds, but did the changes stop there? Read More

 

Apple Releases iAds Gallery App, Because Everyone Wants to Voluntarily Look at Ads

By Alex Heath on Apr 5, 2011

Apple has released a new app that displays popular iAd campaigns. iAd Gallery showcases the best iAds in all of their interactive goodness.

Most people try to avoid advertisements as much as possible, but Apple feels as though we need a stand-alone app for only viewing ads. Yep. And it’s not even April Fool’s. Read More

 

Will Apple’s iBooks Get iAds?

By Guest Author on Aug 25, 2010

The Wall Street Journal has an article about the possibility of advertisements hitting the pages of iBooks. This annoying idea is purely speculation but nevertheless worth a thought considering Apple’s newest creation, iAds.

Books as an advertising platform would have much more influence than movies or television since readers typically reread a novel over the course of many years. iBooks would be around as long as the buyer decides to keep them on their devices, and that could be a long time considering the limited amount of space they take up. Read More

 

The iPhone Hosts 55% of All Smartphone Ads

By Guest Author on Aug 23, 2010

Millennial Media reports that Apple’s iOS is the platform of choice when it comes to advertisers. What is even more profitable is the fact that the iPhone leads all smartphones with 55% of the market on its screens.

Who says ads aren’t exciting? Including all devices, Apple products sport 35% of the pie while Samsung comes in 2nd with 17%, RIM with 10% and Motorola in 4th with 9%. Let’s get back to smartphones which are defined by the study as products running a recognizable operating system. Read More

 

Apple Slowing Up the iAd Process

By Guest Author on Aug 16, 2010

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple’s “revolutionary” advertising service iAd is off to a slow start due to Apple’s demand for having creative control. This doesn’t surprise this author since everything Apple does usually has to have their “unique” stamp of approval.

According to executives, advertisers aren’t typically used to having the outsourcer having such a ‘say-so’ when it comes to the implementation and design of such ads. This process has left the building of the advertisements to take 8-10 weeks time, from brainstorming to completion. The delay is said to rest in Apple’s hands, which partners say is taking 2 weeks longer than usual. Read More

 

Want to Get Rid of iAds? There’s An App for That

By Sebastien Page on Jul 20, 2010

We saw before that it is possible to opt out of targeted iAds. But what if you don’t want to have any iAd at all on your iPhone? You guessed it, there’s an app for that…

Don’t even waste your time looking in the App Store because you won’t find anything there. However, if your iPhone is jailbroken, head over to Cydia and add the following repo: http://apt.macosmovil.com/

When you’re done, search for iAdKiller on Cydia and install the app. Finally, reboot your iPhone or iPod Touch, and voila!

Obviously, iAdKiller is for iOS 4.X and will only work on jailbroken iDevices. Now enjoy your iAd free iPhone!

Thanks Ydro for the tip.

 

How to Opt Out of iPhone Targeted iAds

By Sebastien Page on Jun 26, 2010

One of the big features of iOS 4 is iAd, a new advertising platform created by Apple, supposedly so developers can make more money and keep their app prices on the cheap.

Like anyone who enters the ad business, Apple had to update their privacy policy, which you agreed to by installing iOS 4.

Gizmodo were the first this morning to bring light on this part of Apple’s privacy policy:

To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise location data, including the real-time geographic location of your Apple computer or device. This location data is collected anonymously in a form that does not personally identify you and is used by Apple and our partners and licensees to provide and improve location-based products and services. For example, we may share geographic location with application providers when you opt in to their location services.

Unfortunately there is no way to opt out of this tracking. No matter what, Apple will still track what you do and where you. Yes, that sucks!

However, you can opt out of Apple’s targeted ads by navigating to https://oo.apple.com/ from your iOS device and voila. I guess Apple could have made this more obvious.