FARK® Reader - Why Ad-Free Subscriptions?

With version 5.4.0 of FARK® Reader, we decided to offer a choice of optional subscriptions which enable ad-free usage - monthly and yearly. Currently, the monthly subscription is $0.99 and the yearly option is $9.99 which is a 16% discount overall.

With the advent of App Tracking Transparency on iOS that began enforcement with iOS 14.5, apps are now required to implement Apple-provided functionality to show a prompt that allows the user to opt-out of tracking. Here's a high-level overview from MacWorld.

Early data shows that 96% of users are opting out of tracking. This has had a major impact - primarily on free apps that depend on ad revenue - because advertisers pay more for ads that can be targeted. Consequently, we have seen a drop in ad revenues of over 60% with our ad provider (Google).

To be clear, we absolutely support any enhancement to user privacy! We personally opt out of tracking on most apps that we use, so we get it. However, to continue the significant software engineering investment to develop and maintain this app, we need to do something to offset the loss in ad revenue. We could either make the app require an initial purchase going forward - or offer subscription options, which was the ultimate decision. We hope that you will continue to support the app by purchasing a subscription, but if not you can always browse via the web at fark.com.