The cord cutting/side loading community takes another hit by losing ES File Explorer. People with official AndroidTV OS will have a much harder time installing this app, but there are ways around it. At any rate, here’s what happened.
Around May 2016, ES File Explorer began incorporating DU Charge Booster into the app, hijacking the user’s lockscreen. Several news and blog websites such as AndroidPIT, which had once recommended the app, encouraged users to uninstall it. It was removed later after much criticism and many bad reviews.
ES File Explorer was accidentally removed from the Fire TV App Store in August 2016.
A popular software blog, The Windows Club, posted a tutorial on how to use the FTP feature of ES File Explorer in March 2019.
Controversy and removal from Play Store
ES File Explorer was removed from the Google Play Store in April 2019, along with several other apps created by DU Group. It was reported by BuzzFeed News.
It was claimed the company who owns ES File Explorer, DO Global, was committing ‘click fraud’ by clicking ads in users’ apps in the background without permission. DO Global responded to these claims with the following:
“In the past week, we have noticed a series of reports about our apps by the media. We fully understand the seriousness of the allegations. As such, we immediately conducted an internal investigation on this matter. We regret to find irregularities in some of our products’ use of AdMob advertisements. Given this, we fully understand and accept Google’s decision. Moreover, we have actively cooperated with them by doing a thorough examination of every app involved.
We would like to thank the media, our partners, and the public for their support. Moving forward, we will strictly follow relevant regulations and continue conducting a comprehensive review of our products. Lastly, during this process, we have caused misunderstandings and great concern due to our being unable to communicate in a timely manner and provide complete information. We offer our sincere apologies.”
It is unclear if or when ES File Explorer will return to the Google Play Store.
Credit: Wikipedia
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