# Adblocking

**Before Ad Blocker:**


**After Ad Blocker:**


# **Engaging with the readings:**

- **Online Ads & Blockers:**

“Online ads aren’t simply ads. They’re actually surveillance tools that strangers use to abuse your privacy.” (Taylor, 2020) As mentioned in this article titled “Advertisers Are Paying Off Ad Blockers to Show 200 Million Users “Acceptable Ads,” the ads being labeled as “acceptable” don’t necessarily protect users from trackers who spy on their every move online. This situation leaves the question: How ethical is it for Ad blocking applications to claim that they are protecting users from being targets for advertisers when they are still allowing “Acceptable Ads” to go through? And if I were to answer that question at this moment, my immediate answer would be no, this isn’t ethical. When a user decides to purchase an advertisement-blocking tool, they expect this tool to work and not even allow certain Ads to go through. There are customers whose primary goal is to keep their information private by downloading these tools, and because of the warning of “acceptable ads only” being so small, their needs and wants aren’t fully reached.

Additionally, I appreciate how this article mentioned “AdGuard” as an application that does not allow ads and works effectively to prevent these from appearing on an individual’s screen. As shown in the images above, where I applied this new tool on one of my preferred citation machine websites, it is evident how the tool efficiently manages to block all ads and does not allow any “acceptable” ones.

Moreover, as revealed in another of the articles, this exposure to ads can even lead to malware, which can be dangerous (Sharma, 2022). This capability of tracking information to detect who will likely click on that ‘GIMP’ ad is a valid idea that supports why allowing companies to track our information can be dangerous. This vulnerable data is exposed, and people with bad intentions can use it to their benefit, and make a user click on it due to their personal interest, only to realize that it is malware.

Furthermore, as stated in “Targeted Advertising Considered Harmful,” ads keep getting more targeted to users, which is another reason people are choosing to install ad blockers on their devices. As mentioned, 66% of Americans are not interested in marketing teams tracking their data to seek their interests. Although it may sound beneficial for companies to track our data, individuals never know who is in possession of this personal data or the intention they might have when using it. In the case previously mentioned related to malware, our data is being stored in a vulnerable position, where people with bad intentions can reach it to appeal to people in a way that seems innocent when in reality, it is to cause a negative impact or harm.