HTC Says Ads Appearing on Default Smartphone Keyboard App Are a Mistake
HTC has issued a response to the numerous complaints it received from smartphone users who saw advertisements attached right above the device's default keyboard app, Touchpal. The company claims the ads are appearing by mistake.
After receiving countless complaints from disgruntled consumers, HTC provided a statement (via Engadget) that said: "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."
Thousands of HTC smartphone users rallied in a Reddit thread after they all found banner ads attached to their default keyboard without warning. With the way the discussions went in the Reddit thread, it appeared that there were no options to remove the unsolicited ads.
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Meanwhile, Engadget reported that HTC appeared "just as surprised as anyone else" when first asked for a comment about the ad-overrun experienced on their smartphone's default keyboard app.
Apart from the mentioned Reddit thread, several smartphone users also went to HTC's official Twitter page and were very vocal about their disappointment. One customer even tweeted: "Hey f*** you for putting ads on my keyboard." He went on to say: "[I have] been an HTC user for nine years. Rethinking that."
To most of the messages and complaints received through their Twitter page, HTC is replying with an instruction to uninstall updates made on the Touchpal app. Unfortunately, since Touchpal is a native app for HTC smartphones, completely uninstalling the program is not an option.
While many users have already shared on social media that uninstalling the updates does not fix the problem, others who might still want to try HTC's advice can go to the Settings app. They should then open the Apps menu, choose "All apps" and then search for "Touchpal." Once they find it, they should choose the "Uninstall updates" option.
HTC has yet to provide a detailed explanation on the sudden appearance of ads in the Touchpal keyboard. Meanwhile, in the same Reddit thread, various users have voiced out their complaints on some companies' practice of forcing ads onto devices like smartphones and even smart TVs.
Some are just hoping that the "public backlash" would soon be enough to force HTC to remove the Touchpal ads completely.
