HTC’s default keyboard is displaying ads to users
We’ve seen manufacturers experiment with ways to send ads to their customers through notifications, but this latest gaffe appears to be on behalf of a third party. Over the weekend, someone posted to reddit a screenshot that shows the default HTC 10 keyboard displaying ads to the user. HTC included TouchPal as the default keyboard, which is a third-party app that has now been updated with the ad display scheme you see below.
HTC has released a statement about the ads showing up, saying they’re working on an update to fix it.
“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.”
That’s good news for anyone who doesn’t want to see the ads, but why should you have to wait for HTC to fix it? Here’s how you can fix it yourself until they do.
How to remove ads from HTC keyboard
- Open your settings app and tap Apps.
- Scroll down until you find the TouchPal keyboard app and tap to see details.
- You can’t completely uninstall it since it’s a system app, but you can uninstall updates. Tap that and accept in order to restore the previous version of TouchPal without ads.
Honestly, this is the last PR problem a manufacturer like HTC needs, especially considering so many people get angry when ads are displayed in basic system apps like notifications and the keyboard prediction area. It’s a sleazy move on TouchPal’s part, but it also reflects terribly on HTC and other manufacturers who choose to use the keyboard as a default app for their devices.