If you use BlinkFeed on your HTC device, you may start seeing a new type of post popping up in your feed today.
HTC says that it’s going to start testing ads, which it calls “promotions,†in BlinkFeed. The trial will start today and it’ll go live in the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan, and China. HTC says that it plans to evaluate the pilot as it’s going on and will decide when and where it’ll roll the ads out next.
So what are the ads going to look like? Well, they’ll appear in your BlinkFeed and they’ll look mostly similar to a standard BlinkFeed post. They’ll differ a bit, though, by including the word “Sponsored†in the lower right corner as well as a button like “Buy Now†for products. HTC says that these ads will promote apps from AdNetworks partners like Yahoo, Twitter, and Appia as well as HTC’s own accessories and devices.
Ads being inserted into feeds can be a bit of a bummer, but the good news is that HTC users will only see these ads in BlinkFeed and not in other parts of their device’s software. Plus, they won’t pop up in BlinkFeed or anything like that, and HTC says that you’ll be able to opt out of them completely if they really bother you.
What do you think of HTC’s decision to insert ads into BlinkFeed?