The Pros and Cons of Using an Ad Blocker

Using an ad blocker can be useful in some ways, and in others, it may prove to be suboptimal. While people have mixed ideas on this topic, it’s something that many others don’t truly understand enough to make an educated decision on it. Still, most seek out ad blockers for the purpose of removing annoying, phone-slowing ads.

Continue reading to find out what ad blockers are and what the pros and cons are that are associated with its use. You’ll soon learn more so you can make your own decision about this feature!

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What’s an Ad Blocker?
An ad blocker is a type of software that has the ability to automatically remove unwanted online advertisements. This includes web banners, embedded audio and video, and pop-up windows. The way this works is that the connection between content providers and third-party networks is interrupted, and tracking scripts are blocked amidst the web activity. This type of software has been around (and evolving) since the early 2000s, becoming more widely used each year.

The Pros
The first pro of this type of software is that it cuts down on annoyance as we browse the web. It’s frustrating when you click on a link only to be bombarded by a pop-up ad that feels impossible to close. Since we all know the feeling, ad blockers have become more and more widely used. In fact, over 70 million people took advantage of them on their devices in 2016. With this software, interruptions are minimal and browsing the net is much more pleasant and seamless. Using this software can also cut down on loading times, help increase battery life, and increase the bandwidth of data usage.

The Cons
To counter those pros, there are also some downsides to using ad blockers. First of all, this software may end up blocking more than just ads. For instance, the commonly used in-app messaging tool Intercom is commonly erroneously blocked by ad blockers. Ad blocking users also report that this feature commonly cuts off their access to YouTube. Additionally, this software has an effect on sites that host ads, which can be damaging to their livelihood as they rely on these ads for income. This is damaging to the economy and could, ultimately, affect the level of free content available to users from venues like news sites, blogs, and so on.