No one enjoys getting interrupted by intrusive pop-up ads, while reading their favorite stories online. Having a rooted Android device offers a seamless way to block ads on all types of connections, but the team behind the popular Adblock Plus extensions is now working on their own web browser that offers a simple way to get an add-free browsing experience even on a non-rooted device.
The Firefox-based browser is currently in beta and you can download the APK right now from he official website (direct download link). Also, your phone needs to be set up for sideloading in order to install it.
After you download and install the Adblock browser the app i going to take you through a quick tour highlighting the most important features. You can start using the browser right away with its default settings – in this case you will still see ‘acceptable adds’. Adblock Plus has some strict policies in place for which ads can be considered ‘acceptable’.
Even so, you might not want to see ads at all while you’re browsing the web. In this case you can go to the app’s settings from the three-dot menu button. There, tap on the ‘Adblocking’ and then on ‘Acceptable Ads’. Now you can disable the ‘Allow some non-intrusive advertising’ option and the browser will block all types of ads.
I definitely recommend you check out the other settings offered by the app, as there are some pretty useful things in there like importing bookmarks and choosing the start page among others.
The Internet is absolutely loaded with annoying ads – the kind of ads that randomly pop-up on your screen, with camouflaged close buttons that will make you squint while searching for them. The truth is, no one likes those ads, and having a reliable way to block them is priceless.
However, pretty much the whole Internet and app stores rely on ads for revenue. Apps and websites require developers, designers, servers, content creators, editors and so on. All of this costs money, and ads are practically the easiest way to earn some. While ad blockers are undeniably useful, they usually block all (or almost all) ads with the default settings.
A browser like Adblock Plus and other apps and add-ons that can block ads out of the box are starting to have a significant impact on ad revenues for both websites and software. Sure, the Adblock Plus for Firefox add-on for Android is available for quite some time but the browser that’s currently under testing can make things a lot easier for those who are not tech savvy.
Surprisingly, Google has allowed the beta version of Adblock browser in the Play Store – anyone that joins the Adblock Plus Google+ Community can download it.  Even so, their permissive attitude might have an unfortunate timing. European wireless carriers are already running a war against mobile ads, and some are even considering the possibility of banning them.
Apps like the Adblock Plus browser might turn into a powerful weapon, since carriers can easily preinstall it on the devices they’re selling even if Google eventually decides to ban it from the Play Store. As an individual you might be tempted to think ‘So what, it would be even better if ads would disappear completely’. In theory, an add-free surfing experience like the one offered by the Adblock browser improves browsing speeds and can even help you save a lot of bandwidth.
Nevertheless, ads are the main revenue of many app developers and Google itself is the biggest beneficiary. These earnings are what help developers maintain and improve their apps and games, but also drive them to create new ones. If everyone were to use ad-free Android devices, you can surely expect many of your favorite apps to get less and less updates and some of them even cease to exist completely (in a not so impossible app-ocalyptic scenario).
The same goes with websites – their maintenance also requires an impressive amount of work. Here at Pocketmeta (like many other sites) we strive to deliver the best experience for our readers, while also displaying unobtrusive ads which make all of the revenue used to keep this website up and running. Most of you probably have a list of websites you love and frequently visit, and I’m sure the majority have static, harmless ads. If you are using an ad blocker, at the very least consider white-listing the websites and apps you enjoy and use on a regular basis.
Hopefully Google is already working on strategies to motivate developers and website owners to display ads from the ‘acceptable’ category, but also stop those that use deceptive and/or intrusive ads which made ad blockers popular in the first place.
Are you using any kind of ad blocker on your computer, tablet and/or phone? Do you have any websites white-listed or you chose to rely on the default settings?
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