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Really annoying ads when not logged in

A topic by Laddo_d created 17 days ago Views: 216 Replies: 13

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hi, when viewing certain jam entry pages while not logged in, I'm seeing very large and obtrusive ads everywhere. The ads are not present while logged in. Is this happening for anyone else?

example page link: https://itch.io/jam/toxic-yuri-vn-jam/rate/3718556

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hechelion17 days ago

I just tried the link and several other jams in incognito mode and didn't get any ads.

I've never read about anyone reporting anything similar; it seems to be something on your end.

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Laddo_d17 days ago

I got the same ads on my iPhone and also a computer at my library, I think something is going on

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hechelion17 days ago (1 edit)

I just tested it from my Android phone, where I'm not logged in to Itch, and I can confirm that the page is showing me an ad.

It's really strange, because even using an incognito account, I can't get it to show the ad on my PC, so I really don't know what's going on. Hopefully, someone can help us figure this out.

EDIT:
Okay, my PC isn't showing me the ad because Firefox is blocking Google Ads, but I don't know why that page has that advertising. I haven't read anything about Itch adding this type of advertising, and other pages don't seem to show anything. Could it be something to do with that developer's CSS?

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Laddo_d17 days ago

I’ve tested it on several devices my home ps4, my iPhone, my iPad, and two computers at the library. They all showed ads except for one library computer.

thank you for double checking, that gives me peace of mind

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hechelion17 days ago

Okay, my PC isn't showing me the ad because Firefox is blocking Google Ads, but I don't know why that page has that advertising. I haven't read anything about Itch adding this type of advertising, and other pages don't seem to show anything. Could it be something to do with that developer's CSS?

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Laddo_d17 days ago

like the jam developer’s page? I can ask them

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Laddo_d17 days ago

I checked with the jams leaders about the css and they said they have no control over anything but the main page. It must be an itchio thing

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A Fals Fiction5 days ago

Yikes.

We should have been made aware if our works are being used for Google Ads tracking and profiling, if pages act as if infected, or if harmful messages are being shown after download to people who don’t have sufficient protection. (To that last point: malicious political campaigns too often show up in Google ads on art websites.)

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No Time To PlayModerator17 days ago(+1)

A while ago itch.io started showing (Google) ads to visitors who aren't logged in after downloading a game. Maybe they're now shown in more places, but even so this sounds very intrusive.

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Deleted post5 days ago

Deleted 5 days ago

A Fals Fiction5 days ago(+1)

Is there an official announcement we might have missed?

(The deleted message was me. I’m trying not to launch into a frustrated rant here.)

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hechelion5 days ago

I've been searching and haven't found anything.

Personally, it seems more like a bug, since the page displaying the ad always does, while others never do.
If it were due to a policy change on Itch, the ad would appear randomly on any page, and that doesn't seem to be the case.

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No Time To PlayModerator5 days ago

Not that I know of.

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Evolutionary Games4 days ago

Something to check:

Sometimes when you watch videos from certain sites they require "codex" to be installed supposedly to decode the video. That so-called codex is actually just a script that will show you ads everywhere you go on the internet - no matter the site - you would need to find the installed codex and delete it (which will unfortunately, also disable the video.) The same might apply to any software you recently installed - the software might have installed adware.

In these cases, the sites (like itch.io) earn no revenue and have no control over the ads - the scammers who got you to install the codex are the ones making money.

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