[BUG] Extra time added to waiting due to adblocking, despite no adblocking mechanics being used in the first place?

[Thisisauser6443]

Describe the bug Getting increasingly tedious to download a single module from the AMR, with extended waiting periods, seemingly due to false positives?

To Reproduce

1. Disable every single form of adblocking possible. In my case, it was just reverting the DNS settings, from Private DNS provider hostname (configured to be dns.adguard.com) to Automatic

2. Clear the app data, to start off on a clean slate (i.e: No previous infractions)

3. Try to download a module from the AMR, only to be hit with a continuously increasing waiting period

Expected behavior To have the regular 10 second waiting period

Screenshots

Device info:

• Device: Google Pixel 8
• OS: Android 14 (Stock firmware - January 2024 Feature Drop/Security Update)
• App Version: 2.3.6 (ARM-V8)

Additional context That screenshot was me testing to see if a previous install of the main AdGuard client was causing this issue, though, after turning it on and off again, this didn't change anything

[androidacy-user]

Please note that sometimes cache can cause faulty results, but the false positive rate is very low in our testing (< 3%). You may try:

• clearing app cache
• ensuring no DNS or VPN is causing issues
• Rebooting your device

[mhier]

Generally, the experience on the download site is quite terrible due to the heavy advertising and attempts to prevent adblocking. On the other hand I might even consider supporting the site financially, but the subscription rates are just absurd (like a factor of 10 too high). I am sorry to say this, but the actual work is not done by providing the download server but by developing Magisk itself and the modules, but that's not what gets paid with that subscription in my understanding.

Please clean that up and make the site more usable, otherwise people will move away.

[Thisisauser6443]

• clearing app cache

After about 6 or 7 attempts, I gave up on that. No effect

• ensuring no DNS or VPN is causing issues

DNS settings were set to Automatic, though, I tried switching back to Private DNS provider hostname and set it to CloudFlare's 1.1.1.1 (one.one.one.one). Oddly enough it worked, and when I set it back to Automatic things were still working as intended. Weird(?)

• Rebooting your device

Same story with clearing the app's cache. No dice

[androidacy-user]

• clearing app cache

After about 6 or 7 attempts, I gave up on that. No effect

• ensuring no DNS or VPN is causing issues

DNS settings were set to Automatic, though, I tried switching back to Private DNS provider hostname and set it to CloudFlare's 1.1.1.1 (one.one.one.one). Oddly enough it worked, and when I set it back to Automatic things were still working as intended. Weird(?)

• Rebooting your device

Same story with clearing the app's cache. No dice

Perhaps Android caches DNS responses? I'm not really clear on how that's handled, I can ask a team member for future reference.

[androidacy-user]

Generally, the experience on the download site is quite terrible due to the heavy advertising and attempts to prevent adblocking. On the other hand I might even consider supporting the site financially, but the subscription rates are just absurd (like a factor of 10 too high). I am sorry to say this, but the actual work is not done by providing the download server but by developing Magisk itself and the modules, but that's not what gets paid with that subscription in my understanding.

Please clean that up and make the site more usable, otherwise people will move away.

Thank you for your feedback on the download site experience. At Androidacy, we're constantly striving to find the right balance between a seamless user experience and the necessary financial sustainability of our platform.

We see ourselves as more than just a download server – we're akin to an app store for Magisk modules, with plans to expand to other types of modules and root tools. The revenue we generate, including from our subscription tiers starting at $2.99 per month (with a 10% discount for annual plans), is crucial. It not only supports current operations but also funds the development of new features and expansions we're actively working on.

Our platform significantly increases visibility for developers, often leading to a 3-7x increase in downloads and views. We also offer community engagement features, such as reviews, ratings, and more. This boost in exposure is integral to our mission of supporting and energizing the Android community. We understand the concerns regarding advertising and assure you that our strategies are data-informed and designed to maintain a high-quality service.

Your input is invaluable to us, and we're committed to continually improving the usability of our site, ensuring it remains an essential resource for both users and developers in the Android ecosystem.

[Thisisauser6443]

• clearing app cache

After about 6 or 7 attempts, I gave up on that. No effect

• ensuring no DNS or VPN is causing issues

DNS settings were set to Automatic, though, I tried switching back to Private DNS provider hostname and set it to CloudFlare's 1.1.1.1 (one.one.one.one). Oddly enough it worked, and when I set it back to Automatic things were still working as intended. Weird(?)

• Rebooting your device

Same story with clearing the app's cache. No dice

Perhaps Android caches DNS responses? I'm not really clear on how that's handled, I can ask a team member for future reference.

Possibly? I tried switching back to Automatic in my DNS settings, and it started triggering the additional waiting time

[mhier]

The revenue we generate, including from our subscription tiers starting at $2.99 per month

This often translates into several dollars per download (most modules do not update every month). This is ridiculous, especially since the modules itself are open source. I might consider supporting you if you had a subscription tier for $2.00 per year (which disables all annoyances of course). Everything on top is simply too much. You obviously are trying to make money with the products of other developers.

[mhier]

Actually, I am not the only one seeing it like that: https://xdaforums.com/t/androidacy-com-theyre-trying-to-monetize-your-modules-your-work.4397385/

Everyone should just stop using this app!

[androidacy-user]

The revenue we generate, including from our subscription tiers starting at $2.99 per month

This often translates into several dollars per download (most modules do not update every month). This is ridiculous, especially since the modules itself are open source. I might consider supporting you if you had a subscription tier for $2.00 per year (which disables all annoyances of course). Everything on top is simply too much. You obviously are trying to make money with the products of other developers.

$2.99 is the subscription for a month for all of our apps and website, so I'm not really sure where you're getting that figure.

$2/yr wouldn't even begin to bring in the additional revenue we need. While a lot of users will not directly cost us that much, a minority of users will actually subscribe, and a lot of users (and, unfortunately some of our heaviest users) also use some form of AdBlock.

[androidacy-user]

Actually, I am not the only one seeing it like that: https://xdaforums.com/t/androidacy-com-theyre-trying-to-monetize-your-modules-your-work.4397385/

Everyone should just stop using this app!

We're aware a minority of users are not entirely happy with our decisions. While we engage where we deem appropriate and worthwhile, the majority of our users are at least not unhappy, and we do what we feel works best for all parties. We apologize this doesn't work for you.

[androidacy-user]

Possibly? I tried switching back to Automatic in my DNS settings, and it started triggering the additional waiting time

Do you have any sort of AdBlock DNS set up on your router? "Automatic" may use secure DNS of your network DNS if available

[mhier]

$2.99 is the subscription for a month for all of our apps and website, so I'm not really sure where you're getting that figure.

This is wrong, sorry. $2.99 is for the possibility to download all apps. Those are not your apps, they are written by other people and probably all or at least most of them are open source.

$2/yr wouldn't even begin to bring in the additional revenue we need. While a lot of users will not directly cost us that much, a minority of users will actually subscribe, and a lot of users (and, unfortunately some of our heaviest users) also use some form of AdBlock.

Well, maybe you cannot get the amount of profit you want by asking for a fair price. Maybe your business model is broken then. You are merely offering a download platform, nothing more. Sometimes you even fail to link properly to the original source, which can be understood as a GPL violation.

And of course I will use an adblocker on web pages which are overloaded so heavily with ads that they are pretty much unusable. I have nothing against e.g. a single unobtrusive ad banner, but your page is crowded with ads which most of the time follow dark patterns. This is not only annoying but sometimes may even pose a security risk.

Hiding my comments as off topic only proves my point. You are a company which tries to gain the maximum possible profit with minimum amount of effort. This goes far beyond covering the expenses.

[Thisisauser6443]

Do you have any sort of AdBlock DNS set up on your router? "Automatic" may use secure DNS of your network DNS if available

No, it's just the stock configuration

[androidacy-user]

$2.99 is the subscription for a month for all of our apps and website, so I'm not really sure where you're getting that figure.

This is wrong, sorry. $2.99 is for the possibility to download all apps. Those are not your apps, they are written by other people and probably all or at least most of them are open source.

$2/yr wouldn't even begin to bring in the additional revenue we need. While a lot of users will not directly cost us that much, a minority of users will actually subscribe, and a lot of users (and, unfortunately some of our heaviest users) also use some form of AdBlock.

Well, maybe you cannot get the amount of profit you want by asking for a fair price. Maybe your business model is broken then. You are merely offering a download platform, nothing more. Sometimes you even fail to link properly to the original source, which can be understood as a GPL violation.

And of course I will use an adblocker on web pages which are overloaded so heavily with ads that they are pretty much unusable. I have nothing against e.g. a single unobtrusive ad banner, but your page is crowded with ads which most of the time follow dark patterns. This is not only annoying but sometimes may even pose a security risk.

Hiding my comments as off topic only proves my point. You are a company which tries to gain the maximum possible profit with minimum amount of effort. This goes far beyond covering the expenses.

You don't like ads. We get it. Use something else. Please stop spamming the issue tracker.

And we're hiding your comments as "off topic" because, well.....

[androidacy-user]

Do you have any sort of AdBlock DNS set up on your router? "Automatic" may use secure DNS of your network DNS if available

No, it's just the stock configuration

That's really strange. Have you tried recently? New updates to web code are generally rolled out silently.

[Thisisauser6443]

That's really strange. Have you tried recently? New updates to web code are generally rolled out silently.

Yeah, just tried, and it's still getting triggered

[androidacy-user]

That's really strange. Have you tried recently? New updates to web code are generally rolled out silently.

Yeah, just tried, and it's still getting triggered

We will pass this information to our development team, and will update this issue when we have more information.

[androidacy-user]

We consider this resolved from our end. You may have to clear app caches.