It appears that Google has ended its ban on ad blocking apps in the Google Play Store.
The company had previously removed or slowed down ad blocking apps such as Adblock Fast and Crystal.
It had justified the removals by claiming that such apps violated a part of the Android Developer Distribution Agreement that states that apps must not interfere with the functionality of web browsers or other apps.
However, the release of browsers such as Safari and Samsung with ad blocking APIs forced Google to re-think its position, as these browsers clearly intended that ad blockers should be able to work on them.
Google has now unblocked Adblock Fast and stopped slowing down Crystal.
Google's new position seems to be that ad blocking apps that use authorised routes such as APIs to integrate with other apps are permitted, whilst apps that try to use non-authorised routes will continue to be blocked.Â
