Yoshion – Pic Collage Maker Adware

I recently tried Yoshion, a photo collage maker that I downloaded from the Google Play Store. Initially, I was excited by the app’s potential, given that it had amassed millions of downloads and seemed like a popular tool for photo editing and creating fun collages. However, my experience with it quickly turned frustrating due to the overwhelming presence of pop-up adware that made the app nearly unusable.

When I first opened Yoshion, I was greeted by a fairly simple interface that seemed intuitive enough. The features looked promising, offering a range of templates and customization options for creating photo collages, similar to other apps I’ve used before. I was particularly drawn to the idea of transforming my photos into creative collages, as I often enjoy creating personalized images for friends and family. But the honeymoon period ended as soon as I started exploring the app further.

Almost immediately after trying to edit my first collage, I was bombarded with ads. It started with a few harmless banner ads at the bottom of the screen, which I could tolerate. But then things escalated quickly. Full-screen ads started popping up, sometimes even interrupting my workflow. I’d be in the middle of adjusting a photo or selecting a new template when an ad for a completely unrelated product would appear. Worse yet, some of these ads required a long wait before I could close them. At first, I thought this might be a one-off occurrence, but the ads kept coming with relentless frequency.

What made matters worse was that these pop-up ads weren’t restricted to just the app’s opening or transitions between screens. They appeared at random moments, even when I wasn’t actively using the app. I would be browsing another app, and suddenly an ad linked to Yoshion would show up on my screen. It was intrusive and frustrating, especially since I had downloaded the app expecting a smooth, enjoyable experience.

It’s a shame because beneath the heavy layer of ads, Yoshion does have some genuinely useful features. The app allows for a decent variety of collage options, with multiple layouts, backgrounds, and editing tools. The templates are visually appealing, and I was able to create a few interesting photo collages for social media. The app also supports some minor editing functions, such as brightness and contrast adjustments, which gave me a bit of control over how my photos looked. However, every time I tried to get comfortable and dive deeper into creating a collage, another ad would interrupt the process. It felt as though the developers prioritized ad revenue over user experience, which made me question the app’s usability.

Out of curiosity, I decided to check the reviews on Google Play to see if I was alone in my frustrations. To my surprise (or perhaps lack thereof), a significant number of users were experiencing the same issues. Several reviews highlighted the invasive nature of the ads, with many stating that it made the app virtually unusable. One review in particular struck a chord: a user mentioned that they had downloaded Yoshion because of a Facebook ad that promised the app could make their photos “sing.” However, after downloading the app, they discovered that it didn’t deliver on this feature, and instead, they were bombarded by ads.

Another user described the app as “total garbage,” saying it was no better than the built-in photo editor already available on their phone but with far more ads. It seemed that many users were lured in by promises of unique features, only to be disappointed by the reality of an ad-heavy app that couldn’t deliver the basics smoothly. A few positive reviews did exist, with some users mentioning that they enjoyed the app’s collage-making capabilities, but even those reviews often included complaints about the excessive ads.

As the ads continued to pop up even when I wasn’t actively using the app, I started to get concerned about my phone’s security and privacy. The idea that an app could push ads to my screen while I was using other apps didn’t sit well with me. I began to wonder what kind of permissions Yoshion had and whether it was collecting more data than necessary. Some of the more skeptical reviews echoed these concerns, with users expressing unease about how the app seemed to be behaving like adware rather than a legitimate tool. One user even mentioned uninstalling the app after suspecting it was draining their battery by running in the background, pushing ads even when not in use. This made me reconsider keeping the app on my phone any longer.

Yoshion, in theory, has the potential to be a decent photo collage maker with some fun features for casual users. The app’s design and functionality, while not groundbreaking, are more than enough for users who want to make quick, personalized collages for social media or personal use. Unfortunately, all of this is overshadowed by the relentless barrage of ads that dominate the user experience. It’s one thing to include ads in a free app, but Yoshion takes it to an extreme level, making it hard to accomplish even simple tasks without being interrupted. There are many other photo editing apps out there that offer similar features without the adware headache, and I’d recommend seeking those out instead. I’ll be avoiding it. My experience, along with the flood of similar complaints in the reviews, suggests that the developers need to rethink their strategy if they want to retain users in the long run.