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Free apps are dangerous, yet free is the dominant business model most mobile apps are taking these days. The roadmap is simple: grow as quickly as possible, then insert ads of some kind or get acquired. For consumers it offers a crummy set of choices: either losing the countless hours you put into the app or have your private data sold to marketers — since as well all know, when the product is free, you are the product. So how are we to trust investing time (our most valuable asset) in free apps that seem to inevitably "jump the shark," no matter how cool they start out? Are paid apps the answer, or will we need something more complex to keep developers in business? Once again, with feeling: You get what you pay for.
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I find it annoying when people complain about advertising/other ways of selling user information in a free app. Why should someone take the time to create and (probably more importantly) support an application if they get nothing from it? App developers need to eat too (and web developers too, since the mobile app ecosystem pretty closely mimics the web ecosystem). It's a service like any other, real people have to use their real time to make it, real time that they could use for work, play, or anything else.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying there isn't anyone out there who wouldn't want to just make an app for fun. Even in assuming there are people who would both create and support it for nothing, they'll probably get bored with it at some point (and decide, "I don't really care enough that it doesn't display properly on your obscure phone model"), and they aren't likely in the majority. But, I find, at least for me personally, once I have a working version of a personal project, I don't care to waste time making bug fixes (beyond the glaringly obvious), and I usually move onto something new. I couldn't see supporting an app if I wasn't getting something for it.
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What about the other option? Paid apps. I'd happily pay for my apps/services if I never had to see another ad (*cough* Code Project *cough*).
I suppose the problem is that the general masses prefer free/ads. Because of them, we all have to deal with free garbage jam packed with ads.
It's always nice when a developer releases a free/ad app, but also releases a paid/adless version. I wouldn't be opposed to making this a required model for a given ecosystem (e.g., iOS).
Disclaimer: I didn't read the article... maybe it says something similar.
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Sure but people who pay for apps usually aren't making those complaints.  Personally, I prefer the free-with-ads for most things (especially if I don't know if I'll like it), but I completely understand that I will be advertised to, and some of my personal information sold, and consciously accept that (of course, I never give an app any information it doesn't need, for example if a game asks for my phone number and it isn't optional, I delete it or give it a fake number if it doesn't verify it). It's just the whiny self-entitled people who think they should get something for nothing that bother me.
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