Adblock Plus, a controversial tech tool that allows you to remove pesky advertisements from your web pages, released a mobile browser for iOS on Tuesday to complement its existing software for Android.
The Adblocking Controversy
Just under five percent of Internet users take advantage of adblocking software in some form, and those numbers are increasing every year. In addition to the obvious boon of cleaning up the aesthetic of a page’s content – so it’s easier for you to read and enjoy – adblock software can decrease data consumption, improve battery life, and protect you from malware, viruses, data theft, and the like.
But the revenue from web page advertisements is also integral to the business models of many tech companies, especially content creators. This is no different than the revenue generated by print advertisements in your local newspaper that make distribution possible; the practice is as old as media itself. Adblock software can throw – and is throwing – the system off-balance, forcing companies to consider new revenue models like asking consumers to pay for content.
The Mobile Adblock Plus
It’s due to this controversy that Google removed the Adblock Plus mobile browser option (for Android) from its PlayStore–it’s been in exile since March 2013. But this week has seen the return of the Android Adblock browser as well as the launch of a version for the iPhone, just one day prior to the Apple release of similar mobile adblocking options on iOS 9.
Apple itself, as a company, has historically strayed away from getting involved with adblock software. Perhaps by taking greater control over its development, they hope to contribute to a compromise between content producers and content consumers that cleans up advertisement options and doesn’t disrupt current revenue models too much. But with the increasing popularity of adblock software, a shift in the standards may be inevitable.
