Google Chrome might finally get the ad-blocking feature for its the mobile and desktop versions. The news comes from inside sources at Google Inc. Not that we have not been enjoying ad-blocks, thanks to ad-block extensions on Chrome Store. But a default ad-blocker by Chrome would be a welcome addition.
The feature would come enabled by default within Chrome, and it would keep out specific types of online advertisements that are bad redirects and open in multiple videos on one click. There are chances that Google might announce this feature within a few weeks, but it is still working on a few aspects and is in the deciding phase whether to go ahead with it.
Kind of ads to get filtered with this ad-blocker would be the ones who come under Coalition for Better Ads, which is an industry group that released a list of ad standards in March. These standards circle out the advertisements formats like pop-ups, auto-playing video ads with sound, ads with countdown timers. Such ads are regarded to be “beneath a threshold of consumer acceptability.”
The tech giant is also considering to block all the ads that appear in collaboration with offensive ads. In this way, it is planning to target a group of ads rather than individual ads. Website owners would be required to make sure of the quality of the ads or Google will block all the ads.
On the contrary, the ad-blocking policy on Chrome seems like overkill for Google as its revenue model depends on advertising as well. The demand for extension-based Chrome extension has grown manifold in recent years. In the US alone, 26% users are using ad-blocking software. Now, Google seems to be interested in tapping the growth of ad-block tools. According to the analytics firm StatCounter, Chrome has nearly 47.5% share of the browser market across all the platforms.
Google is already a part of an “Acceptable Ads” program, which is run by software company Eyeo GmbH. The same company is behind the famous ad-blocking tool Adblock Plus. Google's partnership with the program is the reason why some of the ads on Google are allowed to go through Adblock Plus on Chrome.
It remains to be seen if Google goes ahead with its decision. If it does, then we wonder what will happen to all the other ad-blocking tools for Chrome.
