The cold war online between ad blocking apps and tools, and online platforms like Facebook that thrive on adverts seems to have escalated following Facebook decision to block ‘Ad blockers.’
Facebook is blocking ad blockers on the desktop version of its service, saying well-made, relevant ads can be “useful,” The Washington Post.
The world’s biggest social media company said that it is giving users easier ways to decide what types of ads they want to see — unless, of course, the answer is “none.”
Ad blockers filter out ads by refusing to display page images and other elements that originated with a known ad server. But Facebook has found a way around this. Beginning Tuesday, the desktop version of Facebook will show users ads even if they have ad blockers installed.
The changes don’t affect the mobile Facebook app, which brings in the bulk of the company’s advertising revenue. As with most new Facebook features, the changes are being rolled out to users over time, so some people might see it before others.
Andrew Bosworth, a Facebook vice president, pointed out in a blog post that Facebook is a free service that’s only able to operate because it makes money from advertising.
In the most recent quarter , Facebook made $6.24 billion in advertising revenue, an increase of 63 percent from a year earlier. Mobile advertising (which is not affected by the changes) accounted for 84 percent of this.