Annoyance at the sight of any pop-up ad online is a common reaction for the average web surfer, thus the popularity of ad blockers. Now, a new set of filters could change the online environment in more ways than one.
Just last month, Apple began welcoming apps specifically designed for the purpose of blocking ads to their app store, Digital Trends reported. It's a move that is obviously causing a lot of concern for advertisers, as one of the best ways for them to reach potential consumers may be getting cut off for good.
In an effort to parse through the hyperbole of how good or bad the iOS ad blockers might be, the New York Times decided to study some of the most widely used ad blocking apps on the app store to understand exactly what they do.
Their test comprised of them using three different iOS ad blockers to see just how they might affect the browsing experience. The apps they used were 1Blocker, Crystal, and Purify.
The study also focused mainly on measuring two different aspects of the apps' effectiveness, with those being their impact on loading times and also how they might affect energy-efficiency.
According to multiple tests they ran on different websites, load times did decrease significantly with the iOS ad blockers in place, suggesting that they can allow for a faster surfing experience.
As for the battery life, the impact was not as significant, but there was still improvement recorded due to the usage of the ad blockers.
The report also notes that the usage of ad blockers presented certain flaws as well, such as websites not loading completely and even chunks of content disappearing altogether.
The New York Times also indicated that the growth of ad blockers might lead to some websites no longer being able to publish, thus leading to less content appearing online.
There are clearly pros and cons to iOS ad blockers and time will tell just how big of an impact they can make on the online environment.
