[News] Google reportedly adding its own ad-block to Chrome

[StyM]

https://www.bit-tech.net/news/bits/2...block-chrome/1

Google, a company which makes its vast profits almost solely through advertising, is reportedly working to add an advertising blocker to its popular Chrome browser, seemingly in an effort to discourage the use of third-party tools which block its own ads.

Ad-blocking is undeniably popular. While the majority of websites - including this one - rely solely on advertising revenue to stay afloat, years of marketeers' bad practice have soured users on the concept. From video adverts which automatically play as soon as the page has loaded and increasingly obnoxious pop-up, pop-under, and interstitial ads to the less mainstream fake system warning messages, users are growing tired and increasingly turning to technological means of escape - to say nothing of the dangers of malicious code injected into advertising networks.

With the overwhelming majority of Google's income coming from advertising, ad-blocking is a problem for the company. Rather than turning to the ad-blocker-blocker technology which leads only to ad-blocker-blocker-blocker add-ons and so forth, the company is reportedly working on native ad-blocking for its Google Chrome browser - a move which, cleverly, would give the company some control over precisely what adverts will be blocked and where.

The Wall Street Journal cites anonymous 'people familiar with the company's plans' as its source on the scoop, stating that Google's plan is to 'filter out certain online ad types deemed to provide bad experiences for users as they move around the web.' These adverts would be defined, the sources claim, by the Coalition for Better Ads - and Google's own would, naturally, be on the right side of the rules and therefore exempt from filtration.

While Chrome wouldn't be the first browser to receive native ad-blocking capabilities - various browsers have launched with that specific feature at the forefront, while Opera added ad-blocking in April 2016 and extended it to its mobile version in June that year - it's a move Google will need to make very carefully. The company has already paid out impressive fines for anti-competitive behaviour, and modifying one of the world's most popular web browsers to block competitors' adverts while whitelisting its own is unlikely to go down well with regulators.

[SADS]

I hate ads, the thought of a paid service so that I never have to see them has always played around in my mind.

But it shouldn't have to be that way!

[niobium615]

I can think of at least one site whose ads would be entirely exempt from this adblocker, *cough* YouTube *cough*.

Interesting concept though, I'm curious to see how it pans out, and what incentives it will offer to users over the existing adblockers.

[Buckeye]

I can think of at least one site whose ads would be entirely exempt from this adblocker, *cough* YouTube *cough*.

Interesting concept though, I'm curious to see how it pans out, and what incentives it will offer to users over the existing adblockers.

YouTube has its own paid service now to remove ad's now, called YouTube Red. $9.99 a month but you get several other features with it also.

[kromosto]

suspicious

[niobium615]

YouTube has its own paid service now to remove ad's now, called YouTube Red. $9.99 a month but you get several other features with it also.

I'm aware of YouTube Red, though I question how much of that $10 truly goes towards funding the ad removal. As you say, it also includes other features, including additional content, which I believe is indicative of YouTube trying to slowly redefine itself as a platform.

They also roll some really irritating features into YouTube Red, e.g. if you don't have YouTube Red and you are watching a video on the YouTube app on Android, the video is paused when the device is locked. If you have YouTube Red, audio keeps playing to allow you to listen to music and such. Of course, this is easily circumvented by using a browser in desktop mode, but that really kills the battery, and there's no reason such a feature should be locked to begin with. And I refuse to pay $10/month simply for that one feature and ad removal, especially when I can simply use an adblocker for free(though it does short change video creators on ad revenue).

[AliG]

The irony of youtube red is that you now just get sponsored content instead LOL. Like you can't remove the suggestions to watch some of the unique content for Red subscriptions.

Granted, I still pay the money because I mostly care about ad-free google music. That has a lot of value on roadtrips.