Popular iOS Ad Blocker Maker Withdraws App Due to Conscientious Consciousness

The maker of one of the most popular ad blockers for iOS has retired its app, Peace. The developer knows this is an “immensely unpopular move,” but that it doesn’t feel right to keep its app available.

Thanks to Apple’s latest iOS version, which came out on Wednesday, developers can offer extensions for the Safari browser to block ads. Many users apparently take advantage of this. Within a short time, the adblockers became extremely popular. Peace, developed by Marco Arment, is even number one in the App Store ranking of paid apps in the United States.

Although the developer now “wins” from the advertisers by offering an ad-free web, he says he does not enjoy it. He realizes that although he helps many, he also hurts others by depriving them of income, some of which, as far as he is concerned, do not even have to be victims. “This is simply not worth it,” he writes on his blog. “I’m just not made for this business.”

The maker apologizes to all Peace buyers, especially since most customers probably expected the app to be supported for more than two days. “The program will still work for a long time if you already have it, but there will be no more updates,” he says. Buyers can get their money back.

Incidentally, the developer still believes in the need for ad blockers. “Blocking ads is a form of war,” he says. There would be ‘victims’ on both sides – that of surfers and of companies. The developer recommends Ghostery for desktop and Chrystal for mobile to block ads from now on.

Although Peace has disappeared from the App Store, other developers are working hard to fill the application’s place. For example, Purify is number five in the App Store. The German Eyeo is also working on a full browser for iOS and Android that integrates the functionality of AdBlock Plus. The Peace maker says he doesn’t begrudge anyone the chance to take the place of his app.

At the very least, by allowing ad blockers in iOS 9, Apple has sparked an international discussion about whether companies should be allowed to just block ads because they could severely limit the revenues of other companies. The developer of Peace did not feel good about this and has now stopped using his app, in order to find his ‘peace’.