Google Chrome’s built-in ad-blocker went live on 15th February 2018. For the first time, Google will automatically block a particular kind of ads in Chrome, though quite a few online publishers are anxious about this move, the regular user will be unaffected.
Chrome’s ad filtering is designed to dish out some of the most vexing ads, which will presumably push website owners to limit them. Google is not planning to wipe out all ads from chrome but only the ones that are considered bad using Coalition for Better Ads. Full page ads, ads with autoplaying sound and video as well as flashing ads will be targeted by this new feature, probably resulting into less of these irksome ads on the web.
The most important piece of information is that this won’t be a substitute for AdBlock Plus, unlock Origin, etc.
Following are the kinds of ads which will violate the guidelines by Coalition for Better Ads, triggering the new ad blocker in Chrome:
If you site where Chrome is blocking ads, you’ll see a small pop-up in Chrome that gives you the option to sidestep the ad blocker and allow ads on that site.
Under the hood, Google is using the same patterns as the public and community-curated EasyList filter rules. It’s worth noting that while Google made some modifications to those rules, it doesn’t exempt its own ad networks from this exercise. If a site is in violation, ads from AdSense and DoubleClick will also be blocked.
On a desktop, Google is planning to block pop-up ads, large sticky ads, auto-play video ads with sound, and ads that appear on a site with a countdown blocking you before the content loads. Google is being more aggressive about its mobile ad blocking, filtering out pop-up ads, ads that are displayed before content loads (with or without a countdown), auto-play video ads with sound, large sticky ads, flashing animated ads, fullscreen scroll over ads, and ads that are particularly dense.
Websites Will Be Warned Before They’re Blocked
“The majority of problematic ad experiences are controlled by the site owner,” explains Chris Bentzel, Chrome engineering manager. Therefore, Google is taking a three-step process to tackling these bad ads by evaluating sites, informing sites of issues, and then allowing sites to correct problems before a block is enforced.
Google will examine sites based on the Better ads Standards and then mark them as a pass, warning, or failing. Site owners can access these evaluations using an API, and sites can be re-reviewed after bad ads have been addressed. If a site has been found to have a high number of violations and the owner ignores Google’s notification of these violations then Chrome will start blocking ads on the site after 30 days.
Google’s Chrome ad blocking mechanism will probably face criticism from advertisers and publishers, but if it achieves its goal of improving web advertisement standards then it’ll be a good thing for the entire industry.
