---
# System prepended metadata

title: Ad-Blocking
tags: [CDA]

---

###### tags: `CDA`

# Ad-Blocking

[Go to Main Page](https://hackmd.io/@Rakku/SyRdRbD1u)

[**CLICK HERE TO FIND YOUR IPHONE ACCESSORIES IN THE BEST VALUE POSSIBLE!**](https://www.google.com/search?q=advertisement&oq=ADVERTS&aqs=chrome.2.0l2j0i10i433l2j0i10l2j46i10i175i199j0i10l3.3370j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) All caps and all annoyance; ads take the fun out of websites. I am someone who avidly supports using adblockers and I do it myself too. I use this chrome plugin called AdBlock and it seems to work pretty well for me.

[Gadgetbyte](https://www.gadgetbytenepal.com/), a popular tech related media organisation here in Nepal; is one of the websites I check on almost everyday and I've grown used to the clean interface that it has; and it's easy to follow. This was until this assignment came up and I saw the reality of the ads in the website. Below images show the before and after images of the Website when I turned on and off my ad-blocker.
![Gadgetbyte without ads](https://i.imgur.com/sCqGXL8.jpg)
![Gadgetbyte with ads](https://i.imgur.com/h8nGksS.jpg)

I did not know adding just two ads would make my feed so messy and intolerable. It was confusing.

With growing tensions with [malware ads](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/mar/16/major-sites-new-york-times-bbc-ransomware-malvertising), it's now not even about just the ads being annoying, its risky. By means of phishing and false clickbait, you might get attracted to the ads and even click it. But once you do you might even be locked out of your own laptop. This means that you have to stay aware of every link and image you click. I mean I go to the internet to relax and have some passtime; I don't want to be on my guard all the time.

However, all these websites which are free are usually supported by these websites and having everyone with adblockers would render all these companies bankrupt.
It's not the user's fault either, with such [targeted ads](https://zgp.org/targeted-advertising-considered-harmful/) which essentially take the life out of you when an ad comes up of a thought you had mere seconds ago. Talk about why Snowden snitched. It feels like your privacy is violated and the algorithms hold nothing to you for yourself. Scary stuff.

However, something that [Apple does](https://www.apple.com/safari/) is a good way to not throw people away and [scare them](http://blogs.harvard.edu/doc/2010/07/31/the-data-bubble/). By not keeping cookies and data VERY personalised to you, you can actually keep the revenue for the website. This is because the main [reason](https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1138&context=asc_papers) people want ad blockers is that they do not want very targeted ads. 

Not everyone will use Safari, and a common way to help this is by using plugins like [AdBlock Plus](https://www.theverge.com/2016/9/13/12890050/adblock-plus-now-sells-ads) will actually help retain revenue and keep selling ads. And as Mr. Ben Williams of AdBlock Plus says, "And crucially, monetize the ad blockers on on their own terms." This way, a fair market of Ads will be set which is not very invasive and follows a certain set of rules for people to not be scared away from ads.