Tapatalk is being discontinued

If you haven't already, download Forums for Android, as Tapatalk support will soon be permanently discontinued.

Why are we ending support?

When AndroidForums.com started as the world's first community of Android users, members immediately clamored for an Android app. We built our own forum app, and it worked well, but Tapatalk had a team dedicated specifically to building white-labeled apps for their customers. Their product fit our immediate needs, allowing our team to focus on building and managing the Android Forums community.

There are now THOUSANDS of Android devices and MILLIONS of Android Apps & Games. Tapatalk's basic forum infrastructure simply isn't good enough for the easy-to-use system we think Android users should enjoy.

Android users should be able to download an app and have immediate access to discussing their device, apps, games, and carrier, without a lot of fumbling around. Now they do with our official Forums for Android app on the Play Store.

Edit by Phases: Test builds and feedback for the app accepted, here!

Visitors to AndroidForums.com shouldn't have to scroll through a forum tree the size of a Redwood Forrest to find what they want. Now they don't: the new website now lets users enter topics in the search box for easy access and members can add favorites for quick reference.

There are a few important things to note here:

• Tapatalk could not support these custom features
• Tapatalk was making our website slow
• Tapatalk was making moderation tedious

We made this change because we want Android Forums to be the best it can possibly be... and Tapatalk was holding us back.

Why not support BOTH the new app AND Tapatalk?

There are three primary answers:

1. Tapatalk cannot support our new system
2. Tapatalk is not reliable or trustworthy
3. Tapatalk makes running forums financially impossible

Tapatalk is messy

Tapatalk is based on a bulky, old-school forum infrastructure which is fine for most communities. However, the size and subject matter of Android Forums requires something more modern and advanced. We rebuilt the forum concept from the ground up to focus on the unique needs of OUR community.

In doing so, Tapatalk has become obsolete. Topics and conversations are all thrust into one single Tapatalk category that makes absolutely no sense. Rather than keep Tapatalk enabled, allowing a terrible user experience to be associated with the AF brand, we decided it best to completely discontinue Tapatalk and instead encourage people to use (what we believe is) a far superior product. (If you disagree, please let us know how we can improve in the Suggestion Box)

Tapatalk is unreliable

When Tapatalk started, they promised to help forum owners of all sizes build heir own communities by offering a great app experience. As time went on, and they raised millions of dollars from private investors, they turned into a money hungry machine.

Their strategy seemed to shift. They went from creating the best product for forum owners and their users to figuring out how they could leverage their "man in the middle" status to build their OWN community and brand. And they did.

Under normal circumstances, I would congratulate them, but in the case of Tapatalk their practices bordered on pure exploitation. They "accidentally" indexed entire websites - including AndroidForums.com - as content on their own website. They "accidentally" placed in-app banners to download the Tapatalk app instead of our app. There were a lot of "accidents" that coincidentally had direct and incredible benefits for Tapatalk's bottom line.

As time passed, we realized Tapatalk built an empire at the expense of its subjects. We wanted out, so we spent the last year forging our own path.

Tapatalk would bankrupt us

For the reasons explained above, Android Forums simply cannot continue to operate with Tapatalk. We are an independent company with no outside financing, providing a free service, with lots of expenses. We cover our costs with ads (thanks for not using ad-block!).

As Tapatalk continues to intentionally siphon users and eyeballs from its forum partners, it destroys the financial feasibility of running a website of this size.

We can do better

Aside from our "issues" with Tapatalk, we simply know that we can create something better. Something awesome. Something focused on Android users that fit our specific needs and solve our unique problems.

Tapatalk is great for what it is: a very basic one-size-fits-all forum reader for topics with limited scope. Android is too big for Tapatalk's britches. Android Forums is too awesome to be squeezed into a simple forum concept. It was time to rededicate ourselves to the Android Community and rebuild the original experience and personality that (to be honest) we've been lacking for the past few years.

You can help us!

We think the website and app are both pretty darn awesome, but we know there is room for improvement (if you sign up for free you'll see less ads). Our goal is to build something you love, but we can only do that with your support.

A few ways you can help:

• Reply to this thread with your opinions and suggestions!
• Download the Forums for Android app and if you like it, rate us 5-stars (if you hate it, we'd appreciate your feedback so we can earn 5-stars)
• Download the EarlyBird - News for Android app which shows you all the latest Android News from our News section and if you like it, rate us 5-stars (if you hate it, we'd appreciate your feedback so we can earn 5-stars)
  
• Tell your friends and family about us! When they have a tech question related to Android, send them our way!

Thanks for your continued support!

We've been operating independently since 2007 and that's all thanks to our awesome staff and members. I sincerely appreciate each one of you. Even the lurkers, trolls, and spammers.

Because of YOU we've helped hundreds of thousands of Android users over the last decade. And because of you, we'll help millions more over the decade again.

Infinite appreciation to everyone who has contributed to making Android Forums the #1 destination for Android users and cheers to recommitting ourselves to that tradition of excellence!

Edit: Official thread for our new Forums for Android app:

https://androidforums.com/threads/forums-for-android™.1129393/

 

lunatic59

On the other hand, maybe @stevealbright is currently working on a version that can include other forums? 

That'd get us into the same mess as Tapatalk.

Instead, we are more likely to allow people to create communities about whatever they want. So if you like Corvettes or Pet Parrots or Home Remodeling, you could create or request a community for that topic.

 

@bcrichster To be fair, I think most of your complaints could simply be rephrased as bug reports and feature requests.

There is another thread discussing ads. If you're logged in or using the app, you shouldnt see too many. Currently the mobile web version needs to be slimmed down in the ad department.