HTC is telling users to roll back the latest stock keyboard update, which clutters up the screen with ads.
Update, 10:50pm ET: HTC has confirmed to AC that the ads were mistakenly included. An HTC spokesperson provided the following statement:
Due to an error, some HTC customers have reported seeing ads on their phone's keyboard. This is absolutely not the experience we intended, and we're working to immediately fix the error and remove the ads as quickly as possible.
Original story: Ads in the stock keyboard app on a flagship smartphone. Added quietly via an app update. Which then asks you to pay to remove them.
You'd be hard pressed to come up with a more comically villainous thing for a phone manufacturer, or app developer, to pull on its users. Yet that's what's been happening to some HTC phone owners over the past day, as spotted first by Reddit user "Azirack" on his HTC 10.
HTC 10 owners seem to be worst affected (we're not seeing it on the newer U11 for what it's worth), with the ad bar taking up a good chunk of screen real estate. There's understandable outrage among HTC owners whose phones have started coughing up ads every time they open the keyboard. The consensus, obviously, is that this is not an OK place for ads to be appearing.
@htc why I see adds using default keyboard of the phone that I paid for? This is really unbeliavable! Are you serious? pic.twitter.com/eWx9MTCyEf
— Şakir İMREN (@sakirimren) July 16, 2017
An error by keyboard developer TouchPal is the most likely explanation.
HTC hasn't gotten back to us with an official statement just yet. (Update: See statement above.) The company's official Twitter account is telling angry users to uninstall the latest update to TouchPal via the Settings app, suggesting that the appearance of ads in this update is a mistake. Most likely, code from regular (non-HTC) version of TouchPal, which does include an ad-supported trial version alongside a subscription-supported paid option, made its way into the HTC Sense version. (Both variants live on Google Play, but are updated separately.)
Plus, after well over a decade making smartphones, it's hard to believe HTC would be stupid enough to OK something like this.
However, it does demonstrate one major pitfall of outsourcing your stock keyboard to a third-party developer. HTC saves money in doing so, but catches all the flack when things go wrong. Customers seeing ads on their expensive new handsets aren't mad at the relatively unknown TouchPal, they're angry at HTC. As it looks to build on solid momentum around the U11's launch, such a dent in its reputation among existing customers is something it really doesn't need.
TouchPal for HTC Sense had tanked to an average review score of 2.6 stars on Google Play at the time of writing.
Reader comments
HTC keyboard ads likely an error, but damage is already done [Updated]
On my u11 too
This sounds like it's blown way out of proportion.
TouchPad has been useless for years now. I find it hard to believe that an Android user that goes to the extent of ordering an HTC phone online wouldn't know how to change to a more useful keyboard.
You'd be surprised
Wow. Now that's embarrassing.
Haven't used touchpal since my M7 but couldn't understand why it came on my HTC 10 and now my HTC U11 and I can't uninstall it, luckily I've been using SwiftKey for the last 3 HTC phones since the M9 and haven't looked back, time to ditch touchpal once and for all.
They slipped and accidentally wrote the code to present advertising in their keyboard app? Is that really the excuse they're going with?
No. The keyboard is developed by TouchPal and apparently, they updated it with apps without HTC even knowing.
Wenger Out
This is bad but not sure why anyone is not using the much better Google keyboard anyway.
It was either a bad calculated "mistake" from HTC to make a few bucks or definitely TouchPal saw the opportunity to make it up being a cheap solution to HTC's business.
TouchPal is an absolute garbage. I installed Google Keyboard as soon as I got my U11. HTC needs to just use Google Keyboard and be done with it.
Touchpal...absolute garbage. HTC stick with the stock Gboard, enough already with the old software..
TouchPal is bad. I tried it before and immediately switched to GBoard.
HTC, just drop it and move to GBoard. One less piece of crap.
Yeah its terrible, I lost count of how many times people asked me why their phones are slow especially when typing and I see them using either Touchpal or GoKeyboard. I uninstall those and put gboard or swiftkey(for those who can't live without those heavy themes) and life is good for them again.
This. If they intend to survive as a business in smartphones they need to jettison garbage that generates technical debt for them like this.
These comments are always funny to me... There are ppl that use the TouchPal keyboard and don't like Gboard with all the extra unnecessary things it has (I use Gboard as my keyboard) but my point is just like u consider TouchPal as crap there are ppl that consider everything crap so it isn't as easy as just drop everything and just use Google apps...
But that's the beauty and downfall of Android... If they force apps on us then we'd probably have the iMessage competitor that so many Android users want so badly
One of the first apps I installed on the U11 was SwiftKey, so I haven't noticed anything. Just in case though, TouchPal has been disabled based on this comment thread.
This is not new. When the peel smart remote license expired with OEMs who made an app based off it or included the official app (as in the license expired in the last couple of months from what I can tell) peel jumped in to punish users with an update to the app which introduced full screen and notification based ads. The catch unlike the HTC fiasco is that the shipping remote app (as in what's in your system folder you can't uninstall, but only disable) from peel refuses to run for most people because it runs a check and determine its out of date forcing you to the play store. Thus if you want to use the IR blaster built into your device you are forced into seeing ads. It's terrible and everyone should be boycotting peel as a company for profiteering again, since they already collected money from the initial license on HTC and Samsung devices of the past.
Oh, I hated that fiasco. What makes it worse is that it seems Peel is the only app that is both a universal remote and tv guide. Nothing else replaces it, having both functions in one app.
I disabled the Peel app on my Note 4 when the excessive ads began. I paid for the Galaxy Universal Remote app and am much happier, no ads and more customizable.
This is why I use the BlackBerry keyboard on my S7. Well maybe not the reason. I just got used to it and couldn't get used to any others out there
The bad app score is because ppl keep giving it 1 star bc they can't uninstall it or the language packs it installs.. The keyboard itself isn't bad but definitely far from being one of the best
Bummer, I immediately disabled that awful TouchPal keyboard because I prefer the old HTC keyboard (from the One M7, M8, etc.), which coordinates with HTC Themes.
Use SwiftKey. Highest rated keyboard. It's the best. Been using for years. Learns your words that can be edited out if mistake. Profile kept in cloud. Many free themes/colors. Remember to check SwiftKey settings to add arrow back and forward buttons and add number row, if desired.
TouchPad, uninstall updates, clear data, force stop, then disable.
Second that. I'm so used to SwiftKey that everytime I try a different keyboard makes me like it more. It was slow as hell but those bugs have been fixed for the most part. Multi language support is priceless to me.
Very poor move on the part of both HTC and TouchPal. Time for Gboard, ASAP.
HTC should use Gboard as their default keyboard anyway, considering that they are very good about using Google apps straight out of the box, instead of endless duplicate apps that you can't even fully uninstall, like some other well known manufacturers.
No one ever stops to think they might have gotten hacked?
No, of course not. That would not be appropriate to even consider when you can get a dig in on them and it might infer to Samsung that they actually like the company...
Mac
I disabled TouchPal when I got the U11 and installed SwiftKey.
I've not seen any ads on mine, but I think I'll put Swiftkey on there because I do NOT like TouchPal.
Or... They could pay $0 and use the stock Android keyboard or Gboard...
I'm still stuck on the fact that there are subscription-supported keyboards.
This is nothing new. They instituted lock screen ads on the HTC One M8.
Hmm, never saw that on our two M8's. I would be pissed if they did.
Neither did I. Then again, I saw the reviews for that lock screen update and other reports of it happening before I updated it. I never did take said update. ;)
I didn't see any ads on mine either but I think ppl were talking about the suggestions blinkfeed put on the lock screen instead of actual ads
Isn't an ad just an unsolicited suggestion? And that's what was going on.
It was tied to blinkfeed so if you didn't use it they never came up it basically did what the HTC companion does
And yes fans, it's on the U11..... well it was.... Time for Gboard
Nooooooooo!
L O L. HTC steady making mistakes!
I think you mean touchpal. https://thenextweb.com/insider/2017/06/12/samsung-galaxy-s8-notification...