Mobile Ad Blocking Increased by 90 Percent Last Year

Mobile devices have quickly become an essential component of daily life and we rely on them to organise business meetings, speak to friends and even enjoy addictive games on the move. Traditionally, adverts were placed in newspapers, television and other print media but the digital age has dramatically altered the effectiveness of these campaigns. Nowadays, adverting companies focus on web page adverts which can be seen by a massive audience. Many of these can be fairly intrusive and internet users are fed up with experiencing such a cluttered web space. Originally, ad blocking plugins were only used by those with a high level of technical knowledge. However, human beings are more accustomed to plugins and it’s incredibly easy to install ad blocking software. So far, people have fixated on ad blocking plugins via a laptop or desktop system but this doesn’t reflect user habits. In today’s market, smartphones are incredibly popular and another target for irritating adverts.

According to a new report, smartphone ad blocking is on the rise and almost one in five people have installed an ad blocking plugin on their handset. This is a 90 percent increase compared to the previous year and signifies a huge shift in people’s attitudes towards mobile ad blocking. Individuals are now spending more time on their mobile devices so they feel it’s worthwhile to download an ad blocking plugin. Here we can see the monthly active users by country which makes for some very interesting reading:

Of course, the numbers relate to population size and doesn’t really provide an indication of varying adoption rates based on culture. Nevertheless, the overall picture is very clear and ad blocking appears to be on the rise. Clearly, advertising companies will try to apply pressure on mobile providers and handset makers, but it’s not going to make a difference.