Ad block: Difference between revisions
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'''Ad blocking''' is the practice of blocking advertisements, typically through automated means. Typical goals for doing this are reducing distractions, lowering the extent of data collection, decreasing resource usage (battery, network traffic, memory) and avoiding security threats that leverage advertising networks<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kan |first=Michael |date=2022-12-22 |title=FBI Recommends Installing An Ad Blocker To Dodge Scammers |url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/fbi-recommends-installing-an-ad-blocker-to-dodge-scammers |url-status=live}}</ref>. | |||
==Consumer impact summary== | ==Consumer impact summary== | ||
[[ | Ad blocking is the crux of one of the most prominent conflicts around [[Right to own|right of ownership]], where users feel justified in deciding what their devices do or don't, while platforms that rely on advertising, especially those that offer free services to users, argue that advertisements sustain the platform and must remain untouched. Some platforms [[Ad block#Ad block Countermeasures|even actively detect ad blocking]] in order to display a relevant notice or to degrade functions of a service. This has turned into an arms race between advertisers and consumers. | ||
Advertisements are increasingly showing up in devices (e.g., [[Samsung ads in refrigerators|refrigerators]], [[Stellantis in-car advertisements|cars]], televisions) built right into their system software, making ad blocking difficult. | |||
There are efforts to use copyright law (e.g., DMCA/spotify/revanced, and German court case) to force consumers to play ads or run other programs on devices.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Claburn |first=Thomas |date=2025-08-15 |title=No more Blocktoberfest? German court throws book at ad blockers |url=https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/german_court_ruling_ad_blocking/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260113010801/https://www.theregister.com/2025/08/15/german_court_ruling_ad_blocking/ |archive-date=13 Jan 2026|website=The Register}}</ref> | |||
==Ad Blocker Examples== | ==Ad Blocker Examples== | ||
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*[[Advertising overload]] | *[[Advertising overload]] | ||
*[[wikipedia:Ad_blocking|Ad blocking]] on Wikipedia | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 16:15, 23 March 2026
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Ad blocking is the practice of blocking advertisements, typically through automated means. Typical goals for doing this are reducing distractions, lowering the extent of data collection, decreasing resource usage (battery, network traffic, memory) and avoiding security threats that leverage advertising networks[1].
Consumer impact summary
Ad blocking is the crux of one of the most prominent conflicts around right of ownership, where users feel justified in deciding what their devices do or don't, while platforms that rely on advertising, especially those that offer free services to users, argue that advertisements sustain the platform and must remain untouched. Some platforms even actively detect ad blocking in order to display a relevant notice or to degrade functions of a service. This has turned into an arms race between advertisers and consumers.
Advertisements are increasingly showing up in devices (e.g., refrigerators, cars, televisions) built right into their system software, making ad blocking difficult.
There are efforts to use copyright law (e.g., DMCA/spotify/revanced, and German court case) to force consumers to play ads or run other programs on devices.[2]
Ad Blocker Examples
Some of the add-ons / extensions / plug-ins below are not necessarily ad-blocking software but do contribute to blocking advertisements or reduce or eliminate the amount of data you share online.
Internet Browsers
A for Android, i for iOS, L for Linux, W for Windows
Browser base: C for Chromium, F for Firefox
If a browser is not listed "officially" for an add-on in the table below but shares the "Based on" attribute with a browser that is, it may (but is not guaranteed to) work with that browser.
| Based on | "Do Not Track" feature | DuckDuckGo Privacy Essentials | NoScript | Privacy Badger | uBlock Origin | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brave | C | |||||
| Chrome | C | L, W | ||||
| DuckDuckGo | C | A | ||||
| Edge | C | L, W | ||||
| Firefox | F | A, L, W | A, L, W | A, L, W | A, L, W | A, L, W |
| Firefox Developer Edition | F | L, W | L, W | L, W | L, W | L, W |
| Mullvad Browser | F | L, W | L, W | L, W | ||
| Opera | C | |||||
| Safari | - | |||||
| Tor Browser | F | A, L, W | A, L, W | |||
| Vivaldi | C | |||||
| Waterfox | F | L, W | L, W | L, W | L, W | L, W |
Ad block Countermeasures
Dishonest countermeasures
1. Purposefully taking longer to load/not loading CSS portions of a website to shift the blame onto the ad blocker
2. Utilizing pop-ups & overlays to deter ad block usage
Owners & developers of domains & websites can detect ad blockers & make it significantly harder to access content by putting in countermeasures such as Pop-Ups & Overlays. Sometimes they go as far as using techniques that somewhat resemble the Consent-or-pay method in order to encourage others to disable their ad filtering tool.
See also
Further Reading
- Advertising overload
- Ad blocking on Wikipedia
References
- ↑ Kan, Michael (2022-12-22). "FBI Recommends Installing An Ad Blocker To Dodge Scammers".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Claburn, Thomas (2025-08-15). "No more Blocktoberfest? German court throws book at ad blockers". The Register. Archived from the original on 13 Jan 2026.