TapaTalk will now have ads

Adam Howard

Adam Howard

Well-known member
Dear Forum Owners,

We are excited to announce that Tapatalk is going to begin testing a free version of Tapatalk and in-app ads as a way to help you make money from mobile traffic.

Moving from a paid app to a free app

We recently started to offer the Tapatalk app for free for iOS devices. Since we began to test the free version, we are very happy to report a significant increase in downloads.

Testing ad formats

In the next few days, we will begin to test ad formats on Tapatalk. The ad formats will be integrated within topics, and there will be three formats; banner ads, app installs, and “Promoted Topics” (similar to Facebook’s Sponsored Stories).

During this initial phase, we will be testing technical integrations. The frequency of ads will be very low, and many of your users may never see an ad.

You can view screen shots of the ad formats in the Tapatalk Engagement and Monetization support forums.

After the test

We expect the test phase to run 30-90 days. At the end of test, we will have a good understanding of the performance of the various ad formats. We will also determine the revenue model, and we will retroactively share the ad revenue from the test period with you.

We are excited about helping you earn money from users accessing your forum through Tapatalk. Over the next few weeks, we will provide you updates on the test and will monitor and respond to feedback on the Tapatalk Engagement and Monetization support forum.

If you prefer that your Forum not participate in the pilot, please email me at eric@tapatalk.com

Eric Sternbach
Head of Community Monetization
Tapatalk
Click to expand...

OK, so you can opt out of the test / pilot program. But once this goes live.... I wonder if this will be an option or will it simply be standard?
 
I didn’t see the use either, but some users wanted it anyway. Now I use it for the notification alerts that I get on my mobile phone. I don’t know what to think about the advertisement. Very few people are using it on our site I think. I guess we will just wait to see how it goes.
 
I have a feeling that we won't be able to permanently opt-out of displaying ads to users of the Tapatalk free app.

They've just released an update to the Xenforo app. Note the third point...

Version 1.8.2 release

Update Note:
  1. add Tapatalk hosted image link
  2. add recommend users function
  3. add full ads
  4. fix fatal error of get_dashboard
  5. fix thread watch error when loading subscription topcs
  6. fix some undefined errors
  7. fix push key not set warning
  8. fix participated topics incorrect order problem
Click to expand...
 
I disabled TT with my upgrade to 1.2 and had about 30-40 members contact me with reasons why they needed it. I asked them to give the responsive style a try and showed them screenshots of what it looked like to no avail. The major benefit (to them) is that they can quickly check multiple forums from within the same app - with consistent navigation.

I told them ads were coming so to be aware and then re-installed it.

I'm just going to crank the ads up and see if they finally decide to abandon it.

2 things I wish I never would have adopted as 'forum standard' are TT and a Shoutbox
 
Brogan said:
There is a really simple way of opting out ;)
Click to expand...

Yep! rm -fr ./mobiquo/* :D

Two weeks ago, I even went into my account and deleted everything. Now I'll just send all their emails to the spam folder and I'm free of them.

I'm so glad I have that security headache off of our server. Some users balked, but...tough luck. I mentioned security issues, privacy issues with their private data (who knows what back door a hacker could find in that code), and lack of the full set of forum features. Plus, our staff can now handle issues via mobile since they have full access to all moderation features and the admin page.

As for push notification? It's called "email". ;) Seriously though, I wish XF had some sort of "push" component, perhaps even a small smartphone/tablet app that would be used only to receive and list alerts, which would link over to the forum...
 
Clickfinity said:
I got the same email this morning and definitely don't want Tapatalk inserting content into my forums - ads or otherwise - so have asked how I can opt-out?
Click to expand...

Seems Tapatalk don't want to talk about it - thread removed from view.

Let's give it another try. But if they can't answer simple questions about what they plan to do with the app and our site content and traffic - then it's probably time to walk away.
 
Last edited:
Clickfinity said:
Seems Tapatalk don't want to talk about it - they've deleted the thread!! :eek:
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

I thought they were listening too - a few of us had posted asking for permanent opt-out and that Eric guy even replied saying to email him and we would remain opted-out after the trial. So I can only think that there is no permanent opt-out, otherwise why remove the thread?
 
They could have pulled the thread to revise their message... (just playing devil's advocate :D ).

Still, I've had communications "issues" in my limited dealings with them in the past. It's more a trust issue for me. As for the ads, they should (hopefully!) realize that more users will leave their application in droves if they force advertising on everyone.
 
Having temporarily disabled Tapatalk image uploads until I get some answers, I've had a member explain he pays extra for Tapatalk image hosting; which could explain why they might want to force people down the route of only using this service for uploads.

I hadn't realised it was a paid extra and just thought it was part of the package once you buy the app.
 
Clickfinity said:
Having temporarily disabled Tapatalk image uploads until I get some answers, I've had a member explain he pays extra for Tapatalk image hosting; which could explain why they might want to force people down the route of only using this service for uploads.

I hadn't realised it was a paid extra and just thought it was part of the package once you buy the app.
Click to expand...
I had heard that they were charging for tapatalk image hosting, though I don't know if they have always done this? I don't allow Tapatalk image hosting as I want the content on my site, not on Tapatalk.

@Clickfinity you might want to look at Tapatalk image disabling on CycleChat as I've again managed to upload something when I shouldn't be able to. o_O
 
Clickfinity said:
Having temporarily disabled Tapatalk image uploads until I get some answers, I've had a member explain he pays extra for Tapatalk image hosting; which could explain why they might want to force people down the route of only using this service for uploads.

I hadn't realised it was a paid extra and just thought it was part of the package once you buy the app.
Click to expand...

I've never heard of that either.

Having a third party host the images never sat well with me, so while I didn't disable the feature, I also did not advertise it.

I AM glad i was able to turn of the signature spam. Other members do not need to know how you posted, or what you posted with. (Same as the email spam, "posted from my iphone"...annoys me no end.)
 

Similar threads

E
  • Question Question
Will I need Tapatalk with Xenforo
Replies
2
Views
691
El Chapo
E
tommydamic68
Tapatalk offers BYO APP...cheap
2
Replies
20
Views
4K
Mike
Mike
Ludachris
Tapatalk app alternative made for Xenforo and XF plugins
2 3
Replies
44
Views
12K
Kintaro
Kintaro
BirdOPrey5
  • Question Question
Will there be Tapatalk support?
4 5 6
Replies
111
Views
12K
Cooper
Cooper
Back
Top Bottom