For the first time, Apple will allow content blocking extensions to be added to Safari on iPhones and iPads using the iOS 9 operating system. Should advertisers be devastated? We don't think it's time to panic yet.
For the first time, Apple will allow content blocking extensions to be added to Safari on iPhones and iPads using the iOS 9 operating system.
The browser add-ons – which will be available from various sources on the App Store – can block cookies, images, pop-ups and other content from being downloaded.
The ad blockers will not only detect and strip out scripts in the code of web pages, but prevent scripts from tracking how long a user has been looking at a webpage, or how far down they have scrolled on a page.
It could be fatal. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) trade association has warned that the consequences could be calamitous for some sites. “If you are a medium or small-sized website operating on very tight margins, this could make or break the business,” suggests Stephen Chester.
“Particularly news organisations – whose revenues are under fire at the moment as their print circulations diminish but online audiences grow. Those organisations are having to reshape to adapt to the digital world and ultimately this could break them or put them at risk.”
This doesn’t mean all ad will disappear, however. Adblock Plus, a popular free PC plug-in, operates a “white list” of adverts that are still permitted to appear if they meet certain criteria. Ridding of pop-ups and ads that automatically start playing sounds is a good thing, meaning there is more space for good quality advertising.
Well, as most of us has seen youtube videos are now incorporating a non skipable ad in the uploaded videos. It won’t be long before advertisers do something similar, as this avoids adblockers.