Bug Sees HTC Users Hit With Keyboard Ads
A botched update for popular Android plugin TouchPal has seen HTC customers hit with surprise banner ads within their phone’s keyboard.
HTC issued a statement following reports of the issue, saying that “due to an error, some HTC customers have reported seeing ads on their phone’s keyboard.”
They say “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.”
As reported by Engadget, the company’s social media account has been responding to complaints over the problem with detailed instructions on how to remove the ads.
A TouchPal representative has also gotten in touch with unhappy customers via the Google Play store, vaguely indicating that a server hiccup on their end was the behind the problem.
TouchPal is an Android application that allows users to create and customise their own virtual keyboard in lieu of using the default one issued by the device’s manufacturer or operating system.
HTC ships most of their major devices, including the recent HTC U Ultra, Play and U11, with TouchPal pre-installed.