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Android developers respecting privacy and working the F/LOSS way are often in the situation that they need "funding", but there are not enough users willing to donate – so one day they're looking towards integrating advertisement modules. Unfortunately, the ones known and easy to find are rather proprietary and not necessarily focused on privacy (more to the contrary, they are often quite invasive). That topic addressed in e.g. issue trackers raises the question: what to do? Without income, no outcome. And we want those apps to survive and their authors to prosper. Hence the question:

Are there any matching libraries out there for Android devs…

  • being open-source
  • using a license approved by OSI/FSF
  • using a privacy-friendly (or at least acceptable) ad network
  • do not put up high barriers for implementation
  • ideally offer ethical ads (which also includes not being "screen-invaders" 😜)

Hints welcome! Are you using any such? Can you recommend it?

(being one of the F-Droid maintainers, I'm often confronted with such questions. Your recommendation would not only help me, but many. Related hints are collected here)

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  • One problem of ad frameworks are ad frauds (apps that show ads in background without showing to users and even simulate clicking on the ads). An open source ad framework would simplify such manipulations and you would be even allow to distribute the manipulated version! Therefore I am not sure if an OSS ad framework exists.
    – Robert
    Nov 9, 2022 at 8:13
  • "open source ad framework would simplify" – I cannot agree with that: with the source being open, wouldn't it even be easier to spot such fraud? I'd rather go to the other side of it and claim you can never be sure what else a closed-source framework might do or drag in ;) // But those thoughts aside, my question remains. And while it indeed sounds unrealistic, there might be something like an "ethical ad company" going for full transparency including having their framework open-sourced 🤷‍‎
    – Izzy ♦
    Nov 9, 2022 at 14:29

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