Ads are annoying, we all know it, but they serve a purpose. Regardless of the purpose served, these ads cause frustration with just about everyone due to slow loading times for various websites. Plus, those pesky ads from YouTube are frustrating.
On our computers, there are a plethora of ad-blocking services and apps that we can use to speed up our experience. However, on mobile devices, the choices aren’t so clear. Today, a familiar name has released a way to block ads and speed up those websites on your devices.
Adblock Plus has released a new application that hopes to replace your browser of choice and speed everything up. The application is free, and has been in beta since May of earlier this year. There is even a Google+ community dedicated to this application.
Adblock Plus may seem like a familiar name due to its popularity for Chrome and Firefox users on the desktop. In fact, in the press release, the company states that the desktop ad blocker “has been downloaded more than 400 million times”. That is a ridiculous amount of users who can’t stand ads.
Here are some of the features that the new Adblock Plus browser brings to Android users:
- Automatic adblocking – This is the first browser of its kind to offer users ad blocking as an integrated feature. As more users block ads on their desktop, many are finding little value in the ads served on their phones and tablets. A study by PricewaterhouseCoopers from last year found that most mobile ad clicks were accidents. Automatic ad blocking in a browser app is the crucial first step in a complete mobile ad blocking solution.
- Fast, efficient browsing – Ads cause pages to load slower and can consume 23 percent of your battery. Loading ads also costs data, so blocking them on your mobile browser saves you on your data plan.
- Safer browsing – Malware often hides behind ads, even on trusted networks. Blocking annoying ads reduces your risk of infection, and Adblock Plus has been recommended by Stanford University, UC Santa Barbara and the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
- Total control – Annoying ads are always blocked, but users can encourage better ads by allowing nonintrusive ads to display. Users can change this setting at any time by simply tapping the Menu icon > Settings > Acceptable Ads.
So in an effort to bring that ad-free experience to mobile devices, Adblock Plus has a mobile browser application replacement. Based on Firefox mobile, the browser probably seems pretty familiar to you, but is different in its own way.
We haven’t put Adblock Plus through its paces yet, but if you’re in the market for a new browser, and want block those pesky ads, give Adblock Plus a try. You can grab it from the Google Play Store via the Play Store widget below.
Let us know what you think about this new browser option, and whether it’s really time-saving.
[pb-app-box pname=’org.adblockplus.browser’ name=’Adblock Browser for Android’ theme=’light’ lang=’en’]
