Uptick in Ad Blocker Usage: Good for Consumers, Bad for Companies, Publishers

More people continue to download and use ad blockers on their mobile devices and computers. Ad blockers, as you might have guessed, block ads from popping on websites that you browse and view on the internet. This rise, while it provides convenience to users, significantly costs companies and publishers billions of dollars. Is the rise in usage a cause for concern? Or simply the way of the modern technological world?

How many people use ad blockers on computers?

According to ad tech firm Blockthrough, 257 million people used ad blocking services on their computers by the end of 2020. Comparatively, 38 million people used ad blockers on desktops at the beginning of 2011. That is an increase of 219 million users in just a 10-year span. See the figure below for year-by-year statistics on total users.

Desktop adblocking increased by 21 million new monthly active users in 2020.

I’ve used an ad blocker on my laptop for the past three years. I hate the constant disturbance of pop-up ads while I am reading an article or simply searching through a website. While avoiding potential malware and malicious ads is not as much of a concern to me, it is nice to have that added layer of protection in addition to making reading websites much easier and sleek.

My rationale for using an ad blocker is the same as those surveyed by Blockthrough for their 2021 PageFair Adblock Report. As seen in the below chart, 81% of active monthly users want to better there internet browsing by avoiding annoying ads on their screen. Additionally, when it comes to guarding against malware and protecting personal privacy, 62% and 58% listed those as their top priority, respectively.

Active monthly users want to avoid annoying ads (81%), guard against malware (62%) and protect their privacy (58%).

Although ad blocking makes the viewing and browsing experience easier for consumers, it could, according to Ovum—a research firm—, cost publishers almost $78 billion in 2020.

Additionally, Statista reports that just in the United States, the cost of ad blocking for companies and publishers increased from about $3.9 billion in 2016 to $12.12 billion in 2020.

Simply put, ad blocking is costing companies billions of dollars because less people are seeing the ads they paid large sums of money for people to see. Ad blocking makes the user experience better, but it damages potential income going to companies and publishers.

How many people use mobile ad blockers?

While the increase in desktop/laptop ad block usage from 2011-2020 is immense, the rise in mobile ad blocker usage is much larger in a short period of time. 167 million people used mobile ad blockers in 2015. In just five years, that number rose to 586 million users, a 421 million person increase according to Blockthrough’s 2021 PageFair Adblock Report.

As seen in the chart below, the red line indicating mobile users has skyrocketed since 2017, nearly doubling. Compared to the blue line indicating computer users, the difference is clear as there are more than double the amount of mobile than computer ad block users.

Mobile adblock users has increased by over 400 million people since 2015.

Less people are using PCs, and they are becoming more reliant on mobile devices to do things typically done on computers (e.g., clothes shopping, social media). With the rise of mobile over computers, more people are using the same PC ad blockers on their mobile devices.

In theory, the rise in mobile users makes perfect sense. Those who use(d) an adblocker on their PCs simply use(d) the same software for their mobile device since they are using it more frequently.

Do adblockers block all ads?

Just because somebody has an ad blocker doesn’t mean all ads will be blocked while they’re on the internet.

The top ad blocker, Eyeo Adblock Plus, does not block ads that meet its “acceptable ads standard.” Meaning, if they determine an ad to be safe and non-malicious, the ad will still appear on your screen. While this may frustrate users like myself who do not want a distraction on their page, it is a fair trade off for the overall protection the service offers.

Eyeo defines acceptable ads as “Ads that aren’t intrusive or annoying. They are respectful, don’t interfere with content, and are clearly labeled with the word ‘advertisement’ or its equivalent.” Below is an example of where ads can be placed so they do not interfere with a users reading flow.

Eyeo allows safe advertisements and ensures they are placed in areas of the screen that do not interfere with the user’s “natural reading flow.”

Bigger publishers must pay for their ads not to be blocked and prove they are not harmful to users.

Ad blocking creates user convenience but hurts companies/publishers

Ad blocking has exponentially increased on mobile devices and steadily increased on laptops/desktops. The rise in usage can be attributed to the need for users to have an easier viewing experience that avoids distractions and potentially malware-ridden ads. Although ad blockers make the user experience better, they cost publishers, who rely on ad money to operate, billions of dollars per year.