Please add an option to turn off FDA/allergy/recall alerts. Not only do I not need them for my purposes, but they are turning up inaccurate results (e.g. I put in Peanut Butter - Crunchy and got an allergy alert for Blue Bonnet margarine).

Hi

Firstly I love shopper, it's by far the best shopping app out there and I also love the fact that you're constantly developing it and adding to it. Unfortunately that's what also annoys me about shopper.

While you (the developers) may think the latest feature you've come up with is the best feature in the whole world and you can't contemplate living another second without it not everyone will share your view.

In the latest update you introduced two new features which I'm sure you did with the best of intentions, trying to educate users to make sure they get the most of shopper (your hints) and to look out for the welfare of shopper users (alerts). Both are noble features. But both are also very annoying if you don't want them.

I've been using shopper a while now and whenever you release an update I read the release notes so there's not much chance I'll miss a new feature. I therefore don't need my shopping list spammed with feature adverts.

I'm not a US citizen and I don't have alergies and therefore your FDA alerts are of no interest to me and I don't want them either.

I'm not saying don't keep adding features - that's what makes this app great, but whenever you do introduce a new feature you should always include the ability to turn it off through the settings (even if you have it on by default after the upgrade so that people can see it).

That way you'll keep everyone happy (maybe )

As you might have noticed, we have introduced a messaging capability to Shopper with this release. We are using it to deliver a number of different types of alerts, hints (based on your feedback) and brand messages. We think there are a lot of innovative and useful things we can do with this capability.

Over the past week, over 14,000 people have checked out an alert from the FDA or USDA and 30,000 people have checked out a Shopper usage hint. So while they don't please everyone, a great number of users find these features helpful. We do our best to make improvements- some of them you like and others you don’t, and we are learning quickly!

FDA alerts and application help hints were being over-delivered ... we fixed that and we are actively tweaking it every day to refine how frequently you will see them and what will make them appear so they are as relevant as possible.

We completely understand that for international users the alerts may not be as relevant as to US users. We are investigating ways to allow both US and international users more control in what they see and how they see it when it comes to app alerts/hints. Please bear with us as we refine the FDA alerts and usage hints.

Finally, one of our core beliefs is that apps have to innovate to stay competitive, and we have added a lot of functionality over the past several months. We will be adding even more benefits over the next year, and most of the ideas came from you, so we want to say thank you – we really do strive to keep you delighted and love all of your feedback and suggestions. The features we are adding are not cheap, so in order to keep the price low some of those benefits will be paid for with advertising and others we may ask you to chip in if you really want it.

Thanks for your continued support.

Sincerely,
The Shopper Team

I understand the need to pay for updates.....But the advertising has made Shopper completely useless for me. Every item on my current grocery list now has advertising attached to it, within the list. Only 4 things will now fit on my viewable screen, because of all the advertising, and none of the ads are even for things that are on my list!

If this is how it's going to be, there needs to be a free version that is ad-supported, and a paid version that is ad-free.

Otherwise, I will no longer be using this program. I cannot even use it to do my shopping this week!

You mention making decisions about how often the ads/alerts appear...

...May I suggest that you allow YOUR CUSTOMERS to make these decisions? Give your paying customers a checkbox to DISABLE these so-called "features."

If you need to raise the cost of the application, DO IT. Anything but invasive ads and alerts.

In the iTunes app store, many are complaining about the invasive ads and your rating is falling fast. Is it really worth it? Please undo the damage to this great app. You are driving paying customers away.

Wow, saw my first ads displayed in the app while I was constructing a new shopping list. This is a total turn off for a paid-for app. Besides, they were completely unrelated to what I was doing and were in the way (well ok, it was food). I get the gist of this app the more I use it... it relies on vendor support through obvious ads to flyers, which are more advertisements. These advertisements should be disclosed at time of purchase. Too bad. I am seeking another shopping app.

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Kevin

Count me in on those who are not satisfied with advertising inside a paid app.

I like this app so much I paid the original price of $4.99 and still feel it is worth that much today.

I will NOT be updating to version 5.1, nor any other future version if advertising and alerts are able to be turned off by the user.

Consider the fact I like the product so much I took the time to register on this forum and post my comments.

I join the chorus of users condemning the heinous practice of including ads and unwanted alerts in a paid app. I want the straightforward list tool I paid for.

Completely agree. Ads have no place in a paid app.

I want my $4.99 back or get rid of the ADs. What in the world ever led you to believe that users who PAID for the app would not be annoyed by this? I cannot use list sharing anymore because I have no idea if the note is from the ads or from my wife. You should be ashamed at yourself for this crap!