12 ms·

I'm curious, do you have any evidence that most people are installing ad blockers as a privacy measure? I don't have any hard evidence, but I imagine most peop

by britch 8y ago

I'm curious, do you have any evidence that most people are installing ad blockers as a privacy measure? I don't have any hard evidence, but I imagine most people block ads because they don't want to have to scroll past a bunch of banners and videos to read the article they want to read. Certainly there are many people who are concerned about privacy, but I don' think that's what's driving the popularity of ad blockers. At least personally I have always viewed ad blockers like DVRs for the web.

kevin_thibedeau 8y ago
I install ad blockers because I don't want to get auto redirected to a porn site which some unscrupulous ad vendors make possible. I tried going blocker free at work for 6 months. uBO got installed the day I was sent to a porn site by malicious JavaScript after clicking on an innocuous link. Google won't address the JavaScript problem with their ad network so I cut them off.
- faag36 8y ago
  The Internet for people who don't know about ad blockers must be a horrible place, it's no wonder everybody started using apps for everything.
  - dest 8y ago
    Aren't apps also crippled by ads?
    - bduerst 8y ago
      Yes. Apps are a step backwards because they are in a much less user-controlled space. App adoption is more correlated with mobile platform adoption as opposed to demand for ad blocking.
    - faag36 8y ago
      Some have ads, but they are definitely not crippled by ads and malware.
    - etse 8y ago
      Not nearly as much as mobile web.
  - baud147258 8y ago
    Not that horrible. I don't use an adblock at work, even if what I'm browsing is limited to the register and HN with the linked pages and it's usable.
- guiomie 8y ago
  Sample bias here. But this hasn't happened to me since the early 2000's. I do not have any ad blocker, no ad bothers me, unless its an adult site, they've gone really crazy there.
  - rjzzleep 8y ago
    Then I guess you are a lucky person. Read up on one of the many ad based exploit toolkits[1]. It took a crypto malware to convince a company I was working with to install uBlock. No more ads, no more flash, no more ransomware. [1] https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/ultimate-guide-angler-exploit-kit-non-technical-people/ https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/ultimate-guide-angler-explo...
  - icelancer 8y ago
    I got forcibly redirected on a baseball statistics site multiple times while not using Adblock (my mobile phone which didn't have it). It happens all the time.
- spydum 8y ago
  Just stating: I do think they attempt to address this, they have a great malvertising team, but the problem is huge. If the attack is broad enough it absolutely gets addressed... it’s just such a logistical challenge, and malvertisers are exceedingly clever about their wares
valarauca1 8y ago
I'm going to second this. My usage of ad-blockers is to make webpages _readiable_. When ever the privacy aspect of it comes up its like, "well that's nice." Just the bandwidth overhead of ads alone makes it worth it.
- berbec 8y ago
  Absolutely. I went to the New York Times on a low res machine (1366x768 or so) and there was one visible line of text after the ads
asdkhadsj 8y ago
I do both, fwiw. I'd definitely be curious to see the privacy numbers, but yea I'd wager most everyone I know blocks ads purely because the ads are obtrusive. I run Adblock software for privacy, primarily.
some_account 8y ago
I use it because the web becomes usable and fast again, and also because I don't want ad companies making money from my activity and privacy. When they pay me, they can get some of my data. I'm just waiting for their call.
- RosanaAnaDana 8y ago
  This is an unpopular opinion I also hold. There is no right to advertising to me. If you want me to use your product, pay me.
  - purple-dragon 8y ago
    I don't understand. Is there a certain context you are referring to, or is this how you feel about all online advertising? I'll accept one's claim to rights to browse without advertising if it's accepted that one doesn't have a right to consume ad-supported content without consuming advertisements. It seems only fair to me.
    - Nursie 8y ago
      Don't send me the content if you don't want me to render it as I see fit, I make no promises about how I will consume that data.
      - purple-dragon 8y ago
        That seems like an overly rigid and adversarial perspective. I don't think online advertising is always done well or ethically, but in general, I support the notion that having access to good content requires a way to compensate content creators.
        Nursie 8y ago
        > That seems like an overly rigid and adversarial perspective It's the truth. You don't get to control how I render the page, on what device, whether I've decided to use links (or lynx) today, or any of that. It's my computing device, I'll render data as I please. > I support the notion that having access to good content requires a way to compensate content creators. Sure, but again if you send me the data, I'll render it as I see fit. Let's find another way that doesn't involve stalking, and trying to shove commercial messages in my face every few seconds.
barber5 8y ago
I'm not aware of any evidence that shows that directly. But there a good number of surveys that show that people don't want advertising to target them based on their interests. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1478214 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1478214 "Contrary to what many marketers claim, most adult Americans (66%) do not want marketers to tailor advertisements to their interests. Moreover, when Americans are informed of three common ways that marketers gather data about people in order to tailor ads, even higher percentages - between 73% and 86% - say they would not want such advertising. Even among young adults, whom advertisers often portray as caring little about information privacy, more than half (55%) of 18-24 years-old do not want tailored advertising. And contrary to consistent assertions of marketers, young adults have as strong an aversion to being followed across websites and offline (for example, in stores) as do older adults." Also see https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1989092 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1989092 (64% find the idea of ad targeting to be invasive, most participants would prefer random ads to targeted ads) https://news.gallup.com/poll/145337/internet-users-ready-limit-online-tracking-ads.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/145337/internet-users-ready-lim... (67% of those polled said advertisers shouldn't be able to "match ads to your specific interests based on websites you have visited") References all came from a paper by Jonathan Mayer. Third-Party Web Tracking: Policy and Technology which I'd heartily recommend to anyone who is interested enough to be this deep into the comments (https://jonathanmayer.org/publications/trackingsurvey12.pdf https://jonathanmayer.org/publications/trackingsurvey12.pdf)
phobosdeimos 8y ago
Ad blocking just makes the internet better in every way. Even an asshole like me will remove ublock origin if websites start to self-host ads. But they won't.

by britch 8y ago

kevin_thibedeau 8y ago

I install ad blockers because I don't want to get auto redirected to a porn site which some unscrupulous ad vendors make possible. I tried going blocker free at work for 6 months. uBO got installed the day I was sent to a porn site by malicious JavaScript after clicking on an innocuous link. Google won't address the JavaScript problem with their ad network so I cut them off.

faag36 8y ago
The Internet for people who don't know about ad blockers must be a horrible place, it's no wonder everybody started using apps for everything.
- dest 8y ago
  Aren't apps also crippled by ads?
  - bduerst 8y ago
    Yes. Apps are a step backwards because they are in a much less user-controlled space. App adoption is more correlated with mobile platform adoption as opposed to demand for ad blocking.
  - faag36 8y ago
    Some have ads, but they are definitely not crippled by ads and malware.
  - etse 8y ago
    Not nearly as much as mobile web.
- baud147258 8y ago
  Not that horrible. I don't use an adblock at work, even if what I'm browsing is limited to the register and HN with the linked pages and it's usable.
guiomie 8y ago
Sample bias here. But this hasn't happened to me since the early 2000's. I do not have any ad blocker, no ad bothers me, unless its an adult site, they've gone really crazy there.
- rjzzleep 8y ago
  Then I guess you are a lucky person. Read up on one of the many ad based exploit toolkits[1]. It took a crypto malware to convince a company I was working with to install uBlock. No more ads, no more flash, no more ransomware. [1] https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/ultimate-guide-angler-exploit-kit-non-technical-people/ https://heimdalsecurity.com/blog/ultimate-guide-angler-explo...
- icelancer 8y ago
  I got forcibly redirected on a baseball statistics site multiple times while not using Adblock (my mobile phone which didn't have it). It happens all the time.
spydum 8y ago
Just stating: I do think they attempt to address this, they have a great malvertising team, but the problem is huge. If the attack is broad enough it absolutely gets addressed... it’s just such a logistical challenge, and malvertisers are exceedingly clever about their wares

valarauca1 8y ago

I'm going to second this. My usage of ad-blockers is to make webpages _readiable_. When ever the privacy aspect of it comes up its like, "well that's nice." Just the bandwidth overhead of ads alone makes it worth it.

berbec 8y ago
Absolutely. I went to the New York Times on a low res machine (1366x768 or so) and there was one visible line of text after the ads

asdkhadsj 8y ago

I do both, fwiw. I'd definitely be curious to see the privacy numbers, but yea I'd wager most everyone I know blocks ads purely because the ads are obtrusive. I run Adblock software for privacy, primarily.

some_account 8y ago

I use it because the web becomes usable and fast again, and also because I don't want ad companies making money from my activity and privacy. When they pay me, they can get some of my data. I'm just waiting for their call.

RosanaAnaDana 8y ago
This is an unpopular opinion I also hold. There is no right to advertising to me. If you want me to use your product, pay me.
- purple-dragon 8y ago
  I don't understand. Is there a certain context you are referring to, or is this how you feel about all online advertising? I'll accept one's claim to rights to browse without advertising if it's accepted that one doesn't have a right to consume ad-supported content without consuming advertisements. It seems only fair to me.
  - Nursie 8y ago
    Don't send me the content if you don't want me to render it as I see fit, I make no promises about how I will consume that data.
    - purple-dragon 8y ago
      That seems like an overly rigid and adversarial perspective. I don't think online advertising is always done well or ethically, but in general, I support the notion that having access to good content requires a way to compensate content creators.
      - Nursie 8y ago
        > That seems like an overly rigid and adversarial perspective It's the truth. You don't get to control how I render the page, on what device, whether I've decided to use links (or lynx) today, or any of that. It's my computing device, I'll render data as I please. > I support the notion that having access to good content requires a way to compensate content creators. Sure, but again if you send me the data, I'll render it as I see fit. Let's find another way that doesn't involve stalking, and trying to shove commercial messages in my face every few seconds.

barber5 8y ago

I'm not aware of any evidence that shows that directly. But there a good number of surveys that show that people don't want advertising to target them based on their interests. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1478214 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1478214 "Contrary to what many marketers claim, most adult Americans (66%) do not want marketers to tailor advertisements to their interests. Moreover, when Americans are informed of three common ways that marketers gather data about people in order to tailor ads, even higher percentages - between 73% and 86% - say they would not want such advertising. Even among young adults, whom advertisers often portray as caring little about information privacy, more than half (55%) of 18-24 years-old do not want tailored advertising. And contrary to consistent assertions of marketers, young adults have as strong an aversion to being followed across websites and offline (for example, in stores) as do older adults." Also see https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1989092 https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1989092 (64% find the idea of ad targeting to be invasive, most participants would prefer random ads to targeted ads) https://news.gallup.com/poll/145337/internet-users-ready-limit-online-tracking-ads.aspx https://news.gallup.com/poll/145337/internet-users-ready-lim... (67% of those polled said advertisers shouldn't be able to "match ads to your specific interests based on websites you have visited") References all came from a paper by Jonathan Mayer. Third-Party Web Tracking: Policy and Technology which I'd heartily recommend to anyone who is interested enough to be this deep into the comments (https://jonathanmayer.org/publications/trackingsurvey12.pdf https://jonathanmayer.org/publications/trackingsurvey12.pdf)

phobosdeimos 8y ago

Ad blocking just makes the internet better in every way. Even an asshole like me will remove ublock origin if websites start to self-host ads. But they won't.