Advertisement disguise as a service within BOI mobile app?

ornitorrinco · 09-09-2022 04:37PM #1

Apologies if I post this in the wrong forum. Moderator, feel free to move to the appropriate discussion group.

Please note that my experience is on an Android phone only.

Recently I open an account at BOI. In order to open and setup a BOI account, I am 'obliged' to download the BOI mobile app to complete the process.

Upon first launching and login to the BOI mobile app, a popup (about 1/3 the size of my mobile screen) was displayed prominently. The popup showed "Choose an account to be used for Google Pay" and below the heading were the Google Android IDs of my mobile and "+ Add an account". The popup screen does not have a 'Close' button nor any buttons to dismissed it. To me the popup seem legit - a function of the application which happen to be a popup - given that the popup was displayed after I login, the nature of the app itself and how the popup was designed. Perhaps part of a function to complete the application setup process as there were some business arrangements between BOI and Google?

Finally I was able to dismiss the popup by touching my android screen - outside the popup. I was so annoyed by the constant popup (while navigating the app within a single session) that I wrote a message to BOI support that I do not want to associate my bank account to Google Pay. Support came back with the respond that the popup is actually an "Advertisement" for a service that I can just ignore. There is no mention of customer's ability to disable it. Neither can I find any settings to disable the popup within the app. As of today the same popup continue whenever I access the BOI mobile app.

My question are

1. How is it OK for BOI mobile app to collect my info. from my phone and then use my info. collected (in this case, my phone's Google Android ID) to advertise for third parties? Particularly given the nature of the app.

2. I install the BOI mobile app from Google Playstore and there is no mention that the mobile app contain advertisement.

Now I feel like harassment whenever I use the BOI mobile app and also this business practice is borderline on deception. Is this a BOI service or advertisement? What are you thoughts? What can I do about it? Are there any bodies I can complain to other than BOI?

Calahonda52 · 09-09-2022 04:41PM

Same issue and thoughts here, its a right PITA.

Try the central bank, tell them what You have penned above

walterking · 09-09-2022 09:06PM

If you think that's bad, avoid revolut and their incessant adverts for crypto.

But can't you disable pop-ups on your phone?

ornitorrinco · 09-09-2022 11:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119597684#Comment_119597684

I have not use Revolut - so I cannot really comment on that.

But I think the manner in which BOI mobile app works is very underhanded if not downright dishonest - especially using your personal information in your mobile phone to "trick" you into thinking that associating your bank account to Google Pay is part and parcel of setting up your BOI mobile app., when there is no mention in the mobile app. that it contains advertisement.

Finally I have yet to find a setting within the mobile BOI app that allows me to disable pop-ups. I do not want to install any 3rd party app that disable pop-ups to avoid breaking the workings of other apps in my mobile.

ornitorrinco · 09-09-2022 11:08PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119596489#Comment_119596489

Glad to hear that I am not the only person that have a problem with this. Do you have an email or postal address to specific department to complain to?

coylemj · 10-09-2022 02:43PM

OP, this has nothing to do with BoI. I use their app virtually every day of the week on my Android phone and I get no popup ads. You need to check the settings in your phone - have you installed an app which claims to be an ad blocker but is actually a trojan?

Gooser14 · 10-09-2022 04:25PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119600116#Comment_119600116

Are you using Google Pay already? Like you I use the BoI app regularly and don't get the pop up ads. My BoI card is however already linked to Google Pay. Just wondering whether that is why we don't get the pop up ads.

coylemj · 10-09-2022 08:12PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119600462#Comment_119600462

Yes I am. And I have added all my BoI cards to Google Pay. But I could have been issued with a new credit card from BoI last week and Google Pay wouldn’t know about it. So why don’t they pester me all the time to make sure I’ve given them details of all my BoI cards?

I just can’t accept the proposition that BoI is complicit in bombarding the OP with ads for Google Pay when he opens the BoI app.

ornitorrinco · 10-09-2022 08:41PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119601253#Comment_119601253

I agree with you that I cannot believe BOI could have done something as shady as I describe above. Thus the discussion thread.

But facts are facts... This is what I am experiencing. Also how do you explain BOI's support's respond to my query that the popup is an advertisement for a service BOI provide and that I can just ignore it.

StreetLight · 11-09-2022 12:30PM

I was getting that too, but you can get rid of it this way:

Go into your Google account and select Data and Privacy
Scroll down to Apps and Services and click on the right arrow
Scroll down to Payments and click on Settings
Scroll down to Privacy Settings and deselect the option for sharing Google Pay

11-09-2022 01:06PM

Install an ad blocker, that should stop that irritating pop-up. However be aware that ad and pop up blockers can disable functionality of certain apps/sites, but you can tap the blocker on and off as needed in these cases.

Now, BOI not any company or organisation have nothing to do with the appearance of these ads. They are triggered simply by parsing the underlying code of every site that appears in your phone and when “bank” appears in the text then the financially related advert recognises you are in the middle of focussing on banking type stuff.

ornitorrinco · 11-09-2022 03:24PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603060#Comment_119603060

Thank you so much for this info. I shall give it a go to see if it works..

ornitorrinco · 11-09-2022 03:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603231#Comment_119603231

I do not install an ad blocker for the same reason you wrote above..

Regarding you second point.. Surely this is due to the particular company "allowing" its website and/or app to contain third party code to enable the parsing of "bank" string to occur which results in financial related advertisement? I cannot imagine this is the case for all companies... I stand to be corrected.

Additionally I have used other banking apps that do not have advertisement. Going to BOI website also does not give the problem I described earlier...

ornitorrinco · 11-09-2022 03:47PM

The point I made above is that BOI's mobile app. 'facilitate' the 'enablement' of 3rd party advertisement. I am sure there are various ways of how advertisement are being served.

11-09-2022 06:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603957#Comment_119603957

It’s not third party code, it’s simply the html that’s common to every single website. The code behind the ads seeks out text. I was so curious about all this sh1t I made a study of it and can now write mini bots to do this kind of stuff. If I made a big study of it I could get a job writing this horrible annoying ad stuff. Next time you are on your desktop in Google Chrome right flight on your mouse, then click inspect. You will see a window open to the right with all that code. This is how coders access existing code and interact with it.

ornitorrinco · 12-09-2022 11:29AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119603060#Comment_119603060

Hmm.. My Google Pay "sharing" option was OFF in my payment profiles. I turn "ON" and "OFF" again on the "sharing" option and save. No go 😣. How long does it take to turn OFF the sharing Google Pay option before the workaround work in your BOI's mobile app? Do you have any Google Pay profiles setup?

I even reregister my BOI's mobile app by clearing the app's user cache and data without success 😫. I tried by turning OFF google pay sharing first (no success) then reregister my BOI mobile app. with Google Pay sharing OFF.

Any other ideas?

ornitorrinco · 12-09-2022 11:49AM

Thank you all for the suggestions/workaround for the issue I am having right now... I appreciate that.

However I want to refocus the discussion thread that is the ethics if not consumer rights/privacy behind BOI allowing its 'platform' to be used as a vehicle to advertise (or an advertisement 'disguise' as a service) for third parties. The borderline deception methodology that is being employed...

Jim2007 · 12-09-2022 04:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119607167#Comment_119607167

This thread has run its course. If you have specific questions about a financial product feel free to post them. But we don't do ethics or politics here. I am now closing this thread.

Advertisement disguise as a service within BOI mobile app?

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