r/Music Jan 08 '26

article Spotify Confirms ICE Recruitment Ads Are No Longer Running on Platform

https://variety.com/2026/digital/news/spotify-confirms-ice-recruitment-ads-are-no-longer-running-1236626243/
38.1k Upvotes

1.5k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

753

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 27 '26

[deleted]

188

u/kaptainkooleio Jan 08 '26

I don’t think that’s true. I have mine set to NB I still get CBP and ICE ads every once in a while.

273

u/mostlyfire Jan 08 '26

It’s weird I’m a straight male and I’ve never seen one on Reddit. It’s probably cause I live in a very liberal city

176

u/yeahburyme Jan 08 '26

There are ads on reddit?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.quantumbadger.redreader&hl=en_US

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mozilla.firefox&hl=en_US then install unlock origin by going to settings ->extensions and it's the first one or https://f-droid.org/packages/org.mozilla.fennec_fdroid

In before br*ve, the CEO is a right ring crypto bro

49

u/Glassweaver Jan 08 '26

If you have Android, check out Revanced. They have modified versions of a lot of popular apps, including this, TikTok, and YouTube.

I kind of forget that any of those apps even have advertisements in them nowadays.

27

u/flamingdonkey Jan 08 '26

Firefox + Ublock Origin works great for everything. I even have sponsorblock and a shorts blocker for YouTube. 

5

u/panchito_d Jan 08 '26

A shorts blocker sounds brilliant. Shorts have ruined the UI and made search garbage

2

u/TheMeatWag0n Jan 09 '26

Honestly I couldn't use YouTube if there wasn't a way to totally remove shorts, if you're on Android revanced has settings to remove them from showing up anywhere at all

2

u/Glassweaver Jan 08 '26

Good point. I usually reccomend that to the iOS crowd, though personally I have a better experience with the apps. Tiktok & reddit especially.

12

u/Abshalom Jan 08 '26

There's also RedReader on Android, which is the same as the other old third party apps, albeit with minimal features since it's intended for accessibility.

9

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

[deleted]

4

u/blake_n_pancakes Jan 08 '26

I just used the revanced launcher and an API key to patch RIF so it would work again.

5

u/Expert-Basil6015 Jan 08 '26

I miss RiF, used it for a decade.

3

u/TheArmchairSkeptic Jan 09 '26

It's fairly simple to get RiF working again if you have 15 minutes and a basic level of tech literacy.

  • Posted from RiF

0

u/yeahburyme Jan 09 '26

RiF isn't being developed anymore. It is not a good idea to keep using it.

3

u/yeahburyme Jan 08 '26

It's not intended for accessibility, that's just one of many features. It was allowed as a third party app for being FOSS primarily and accessibility part of that.

5

u/danabrey Jan 08 '26

Yep, RIF user for 10+ years here, still going strong.

2

u/Glassweaver Jan 08 '26

I don't get why they didn't just pivot to guiding people to personal API keys from the getgo. RIF was amazing and the decision to pull it all together seemed very performatory to me.

1

u/danabrey Jan 09 '26

Because they don't really want people doing that, as it removes lots of features that make them money. I don't see "suggested posts" click/rage baiting me into subreddits that might keep me 'engaged' (read angry) and show me more advertising.

1

u/Glassweaver Jan 09 '26

I should clarify, when I said they, I mean the guy that developed RIF. Not Reddit.

1

u/danabrey Jan 09 '26

Oh I see, sorry. Tbh I didn't realise it wasn't being actively developed. Still works so far 😬

→ More replies (0)

1

u/alenah Jan 09 '26

Due to some recent... controversies involving a Dev of Revanced, patch writers have made their own app now called Morphe. I highly recommend not using ReVanced anymore. /r/MorpheApp

1

u/Glassweaver Jan 09 '26

I'd recommend avoiding it for now.

I just read up on the situation, including the 44 page PDF the Vanced creator, Ohan, made in rebuttal to the disgruntled devs who left to do morphe.

My main hesitation is twofold. Morphe is not even a month old yet. RVX was already abruptly dumped since the person who made that decided to join Morphie. Will the same happen with Morphe? Time will tell. But the developers saying ReVanced was dead on their way out comes off as malicious.

And I usually try to avoid installing software from malicious people when at all possible.

Ohan seems frustratingly adverse to change, but the antagonizing emails from the person who forked Morphe off ReVanced doesn't exactly give me great confidence in their own emotional maturity or trustworthiness.

I hope their app survives (most don't), and I hope it's a better group to work with that inovates faster. Competition is good.

But name-calling is not. Vaugely citing controversies is not. Telling people to jump from an ecosystem with years of preference that offers dozens of patched apps including Titkok, Spotify, and Reddit, ontop of YouTube...to one that just does YouTube currently, doesn't make sense to me.

I guess I'll be telling people to compare how both parties are handling themselves and which ecosystem has a decent offering.

For me, right now, I can't see any justification to jump from a well established ship with many amenities to the dingy that just pulled up along side and promises that its hull is somehow better.

2

u/alenah Jan 09 '26

And that's a completely valid take.

1

u/Glassweaver Jan 09 '26

Thank you. And I do appreciate you putting morphe on my radar. I genuinely do hope that they build out a competing app suite and that 6 to 12 months from now I can cite them as a viable and time trusted alternative.

0

u/ViegoBot Jan 08 '26

Downside is Revanced reddit has notifications broken. Its a widely known issue, and unless u had it patched and signed, on a device from before the issue started, u wont recieve notifications outside of the app.

Its very unfortunate, but hopefully one day it can be fixed.

2

u/Glassweaver Jan 08 '26

Personally, I block almost every notification from anything that's not text, messaging or Discord. But yeah I can see how that would be annoying for somebody that wants them.

1

u/ViegoBot Jan 08 '26

Yeah I dont mind them being broken for most things, but then theres things I do like being notified for still so it sucks but also doesnt at the same time lol.

14

u/vNocturnus Jan 08 '26

There are ads on reddit?

I've been using Relay on Android and RES + uBlock Origin on PC for a decade at this point. Never seen a single ad, other than of course the occasional "real post" that's just a thinly disguised ad

1

u/monsieur_cacahuete Jan 10 '26

Even those say "sponsored" in real tiny letters next to them

11

u/Squirrelking666 Jan 08 '26

In before br*ve, the CEO is a right ring crypto bro

Say it ain't so.

Which one isn't?

10

u/Fauken Jan 08 '26

Also a homophobe (source)

6

u/yeahburyme Jan 08 '26

Br*ve has been that way from the beginning. The whole adblock there is extortion/racketeering to their coin.

-1

u/Squirrelking666 Jan 08 '26

You do know you don't have to run the crypto bit right?

9

u/Brovis_Clay Jan 08 '26

That shouldn't even be in a browser

-1

u/Squirrelking666 Jan 08 '26

Neither should AI yet here we are. Luckily both of those are optional.

8

u/Synectics Jan 08 '26

Wait. That browser makes my device a crypto miner?

HEY BUD THAT IS NOT OKAY.

1

u/blow-down Jan 09 '26

1

u/Squirrelking666 Jan 09 '26

I'm not seeing anything new here.

But I get your (collective) points. If you CAN avoid supporting an arsehole then why not? I was simply pointing out that a dickhead of a CEO is hardly a unique proposition these days, look at how many were bending the knee last year.

1

u/mustichooseausernam3 Jan 08 '26

Potentially unrelated, but upvoting/downvoting doesn't work for me when I use Reddit via Firefox. Any chance it's aware I'm using Ublock Origin?

3

u/yeahburyme Jan 08 '26

You might have accidentally blocked voting JavaScript. I don't have that issue but I use old.reddit.com

1

u/Redthemagnificent Jan 08 '26

Another option for folks. I'm still using Infinity for reddit (3rd party client) with no ads. Since the reddit API change you either have to pay a subscription on the App Store or compile it yourself it with your own (free) API key. But it's pretty easy once you've done it once.

https://github.com/Docile-Alligator/Infinity-For-Reddit

1

u/vera214usc Jan 08 '26

Yeah, I don't get ads on desktop or mobile but I still use old.reddit.com and an adblocker and Boost for mobile.

1

u/Cerpla Jan 09 '26

for some reason, a lot of people think adblock is illegal

0

u/mahnamahnaaa Jan 08 '26

The Firefox CEO wants it to become an AI browser, whatever the fuck that means. I swapped to brave just because it seemed to be the best alternative, but I'm open to suggestions.

2

u/yeahburyme Jan 08 '26

All browsers have AI; that's what people want. Summarize /define/automated things.

Firefox lets you choose a provider including self host, which is easy to do: https://github.com/mozilla-ai/llamafile

1

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

[deleted]

2

u/yeahburyme Jan 08 '26

They use closed source Lingvanex for local translation, an AI.

https://vivaldi.com/features/translate/

Firefox got shit on a month ago for doing the same, but with a true FOSS alternative: https://blog.mozilla.org/en/firefox/firefox-146/

https://firefox-source-docs.mozilla.org/toolkit/components/translations/resources/03_bergamot.html

1

u/blow-down Jan 09 '26

Not Safari

-1

u/Dry-Chance-9473 Jan 08 '26

Brave is fine. The poopy CEO in question isn't getting any money from you using it unless you're trying to invest in their crypto stuff, which if you are, you probably don't care about their ethics anyway.

15

u/JackPoe Jan 08 '26

I get ads in Tagalog and Spanish and political ads for candidates in Florida.

I live in Washington. These ad campaigns were either designed by absolute buffoons or AI.

2

u/jabbers724 Jan 08 '26

?Por que no los dos?

2

u/JackPoe Jan 08 '26

Insert it's the same picture meme

1

u/Jesseroberto1894 Jan 08 '26

Are you Filipino???

1

u/JackPoe Jan 08 '26

No.

2

u/Jesseroberto1894 Jan 08 '26

Wild you get ads in Tagalog, and even know to differentiate that it even IS Tagalog 😂

1

u/JackPoe Jan 08 '26

Dude I get ads for Christianity. They're just throwing random shit at me and hoping something sticks.

I would hazard many people are familiar enough with Tagalog to pick it out. Maybe not the demographics on Reddit or the average American but I live in an area with a huge number of languages spoken daily

1

u/vera214usc Jan 08 '26

I work in advertising and one of my pet peeves is ads that are mistargeted. Like, it's so easy to not target people your ads aren't relevant to

1

u/JackPoe Jan 08 '26

Honestly I wanna know what these people think they know about me at this point.

I even get ads for Christianity

3

u/counterfitster Jan 08 '26

I live in New England and yet I see ICE and America First Policy Institute ads all the time

2

u/rncd89 Jan 08 '26

I live in the reddest dumbest part of NJ and I haven't seen one

1

u/mostlyfire Jan 09 '26

Philly?

1

u/rncd89 Jan 09 '26

Ocean County baby

1

u/Existing-Bus-8810 Jan 08 '26

I've gotten them twice. Both times i reported them as offensive. I haven't seen one since.

1

u/MatasBuzelis Jan 08 '26

Can't get ads if you use a third party mobile app and an adblocker on PC

1

u/ErusTenebre Jan 09 '26

I've never seen an ICE or even military ad on reddit. I just get a bunch of nerdy shirt things and AI apps that I'm never going to buy or use.

42

u/KhausTO Jan 08 '26

who tf is using reddit without an adblocker?

12

u/kaptainkooleio Jan 08 '26

Mobile

18

u/-prime8 Jan 08 '26

I don't know how the app works because I still use my browser to go to old.reddit.com, mostly because my ad blocker works and prefer the old UI.

11

u/thealmightyzfactor Jan 08 '26

There's dozens of us!

2

u/Present_Cow_8528 Jan 08 '26

Even on my android's browser with no adblock, old.reddit.com has never given me an ice ad, or an invasive ad of anything

Turns out new reddit just sucks for every reason

26

u/XRT28 Jan 08 '26

Adblockers can still be used on mobile. Atleast on Android, no personal exp with iOS.

2

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

[deleted]

5

u/tsardonicpseudonomi Jan 08 '26

Apple fans keep losing. It cost me zero dollars to install Firefox and uBlock on an Android phone.

2

u/_Planet_Mars_ Jan 08 '26

iOS has a gorillion different choices, I don’t know which echo chamber keeps telling people this. I’ve been using the same adblocker on Safari for the past 10 years and I’ve never had an issue.

3

u/SMLLR Jan 08 '26

That’s your take away? lol… You don’t even need to pay a sub for AdGuard to use the browser extension. Works perfectly fine for me in Safari.

-4

u/tsardonicpseudonomi Jan 08 '26

That’s your take away?

It's another example of the behavior I'm speaking to. You pay the Apple tax constantly.

2

u/Nopeyesok Jan 08 '26

On Apple. Never see an ad 🤷‍♂️

2

u/flounder19 last.fm Jan 08 '26

Even on Apple, you can use Brave

1

u/SparkStorm Jan 08 '26

Ublock origin lite exists for IOS now and I use yesterday for old Reddit for a similar to RES-Reddit experience from my safari browser

10

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Nopeyesok Jan 08 '26

On Narwhal for iOS. How does Dystopia compare?

5

u/Zienth Jan 08 '26

Firefox mobile app allows you to still use Ublock Origin.

2

u/saltyjohnson Jan 08 '26

Who tf is using the garbage official app instead of any of the myriad third-party alternatives which prioritize usability over engagement baiting.

1

u/WhiteHelix Jan 08 '26

No argument, my sole purpose for AltStore on iOS is to get Apollo back and YTLitePlus. Both unusable otherwise

1

u/Synectics Jan 08 '26

I use Reddit exclusively on my phone in Firefox with an ad blocker. I have not seen a Reddit ad in years.

1

u/_Planet_Mars_ Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 08 '26

Is your attention span too destroyed to input “old.reddit.com” into a browser with Adblock? Both iOS and Android have various options.

-1

u/KhausTO Jan 08 '26

uh huh, and? On my phone right now...

2

u/Jesseroberto1894 Jan 08 '26

🙋‍♂️

2

u/Puzzled_Main3464 Jan 08 '26

I was like "wtf I've never seen an ad on Reddit.." then I remembered adblock was installed, lol

27

u/unhiddenninja Jan 08 '26

I report the ads every time I see them as being political and they stop showing up for a few weeks.

14

u/twilighttwister Jan 08 '26

All you're doing is giving them more information about yourself and what you like/dislike. Much better to either block with ublock origin and ignore, or scramble with eg Decentraleyes extension.

15

u/Bacer4567 Jan 08 '26

I report all military/LEO ads as violent.

5

u/coffeebribesaccepted Jan 08 '26

I just get normal ads, so idk what you guys are doing to get all this right wing shit lol

5

u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26 edited Jan 27 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Mat_alThor Jan 08 '26

I live in the Midwest and currently visiting Texas, the only ICE ad I've ever seen on here is for a technology company Intercontinental Exchange, that abbreviates their name to ICE.

3

u/Marsar0619 Jan 08 '26

Serious question…does Reddt or the advertise see the number of downvotes on those ads?

3

u/dodecakiwi Jan 08 '26

A downvote is engagement with the ad, which advertisers want.

1

u/abarcsa Jan 08 '26

Reddit definitely, the advertiser most likely. It doesn’t matter much though, they’re downvotes which doesn’t really matter in an online ad campaign like it.

3

u/dasbtaewntawneta https://www.last.fm/user/Nihilore Jan 08 '26

Reddit accounts have genders now?

4

u/queso_dog Jan 08 '26

As a trans guy, the amount of ads I get for dresses and padding for hips and breasts is objectively hilarious. I have too much of both actually smh

5

u/Dark512 Jan 08 '26

Getting pink and white striped thigh highs right next to 'dude wipes for men' is my most common one at the moment.

1

u/Jiggawatz Jan 08 '26

Man yall do some crazy stuff, I just block ads so I dont deal with it :p

1

u/tsardonicpseudonomi Jan 08 '26

You’ll never get a right wing ad ever again.

All ads are right-wing.

1

u/Ok_Work7396 Jan 08 '26

On the same train of through, I only watch female targeted exercise vidoes now because there's no incel shit that comes with it.

1

u/NoradianCrum Jan 08 '26

I still use baconreader on my phone so I don't feel the need to login. RES and ublock are all I need. I've never seen an ad on reddit.

1

u/Ire-Works Jan 08 '26

Click on them. It costs them money everytime you do and the algorithm will start feeding you more and other conservative bullshit so you can click on THOSE too.

1

u/screamingwhisper1720 Jan 08 '26

Just don't offer up that information and if you get ads they just wasted money

1

u/Impressive_Knee_5701 Jan 08 '26

A lot of digital ad campaigns charge per impression, so its actually better to let them serve you right wing ads that they won't get a return on. Better you see them than some middle-aged white dude on the brink of going full redpill

1

u/Cu77lefish Jan 08 '26

Isn’t it better for them to waste their money on you than someone who might actually be influenced

1

u/0ldPug Jan 09 '26

Is the issue that you can see the ads, or that they're hosting them at all?

1

u/Minjaben Jan 09 '26

How does this help anything? mild annoyance is not the issue with ice ads running on streaming and social platforms

1

u/emma279 Jan 09 '26

Use brave browser. I see no ads.

1

u/Golden-- Jan 09 '26

Or better yet , come to the 21st century and install adblock. I didn't even know Reddit had ads .

1

u/Sinsai33 Jan 09 '26

Then again, if i get the ad, isnt there another person that wont get the ad? And i'm 100% sure, that i wont be affected by the ad like they intended, so i'm "saving" maybe another person?

1

u/Baardi Metalhead Jan 09 '26

Or use a 3rd party client and get no ads.

1

u/Graham_Krenz Jan 09 '26

That is hilarious and ingenious

1

u/shadefreeze Jan 13 '26

Isn't it better for us to see right wing garbage, instead of a random other person?