Marco Arment Pulls ‘Peace’ iOS Content Blocker from App Store

iOS 9 allowed developers to create their own content blocking apps to strip away advertising on websites. Marco Arment, founder of Instapaper, launched Peace for iOS just 36 hours ago. It quickly vaulted into the top paid spot in the U.S. and Canada. But now, he has decided to suddenly pull it from the App Store.

Here’s why, according to Arment (he also urges users to ask iTunes support for a refund):

Achieving this much success with Peace just doesn’t feel good, which I didn’t anticipate, but probably should have. Ad blockers come with an important asterisk: while they do benefit a ton of people in major ways, they also hurt some, including many who don’t deserve the hit.

Peace required that all ads be treated the same — all-or-nothing enforcement for decisions that aren’t black and white. This approach is too blunt, and Ghostery and I have both decided that it doesn’t serve our goals or beliefs well enough. If we’re going to effect positive change overall, a more nuanced, complex approach is required than what I can bring in a simple iOS app.

Such an interesting move by Arment, but good on him to follow through on his gut instincts.

Now, time for some real talk. As you know, we haven’t addressed the nature of content blockers on iPhone in Canada yet. Our site is powered by advertising in order to keep the lights on around here (and to feed our families), which allows us to enjoy what we do most: providing you with the best Apple and mobile news for Canadians. 

While we have plans to rework advertising on our site, in the meantime what’s here makes it possible for us to do our jobs. If we have helped you or provided you with meaningful news or a tip in any way in the past, we’re kindly asking you to consider whitelisting our site. While the war on ads will never go away, if you enjoy what you’re seeing here, support us so we can continue to do it. Thanks! – Gary