Honestly the ads are why I quit using boost when it came out. Jerboa is completely ad free with a similar enough UI that it's not that hard of a transition.
Permanent ad free for boost is less than a cup of coffee in a Starbucks... The dev deserves to be paid for their time (especially as a Lemmy app actually requires maintenance for updates to Lemmy).
Sure hate on shovelware games or games with 15 DLC's that should have been part of the base game... But don't hate on proper apps like boost.
I don't hate on it and do not advocate for or against it. You do you. Boost is simply one of many options and other options may be free and ad-less.
Because of the nature of ad platforms and ad delivery, various metrics about your activity is also sent to third parties. It's something to be aware of, at least.
I am saying that if an app is good enough, I'll donate or buy it. For now, I am a top contributor to Connect. Yay? Personally, I think the ad route is trashy, but others don't seem to mind unless they get blasted in the face by Troof Social.
It's true that development takes skill, time, and effort, but there are many rewards which are not monetary.
I don't "expect" a dev to put themselves into poverty maintaining an app that I feel like I deserve. But if there are apps maintained by devs as a hobby or whatever and are opensource then naturally those will be my preference.