615 million devices worldwide run adblocking software
As of December 2016, 615 million devices worldwide were blocking online ads. Of these, 62% were mobile phones and tablets. The numbers are immense and growing. Why do users install adblocking services? Find out in this post.
According to PageFair’s research, the top 3 reasons to use adblocking services are:
- Exposure to viruses and malware. 30% of respondents indicated concerns about viruses and malware as their main motivation. Privacy is a top concern for early adopters of adblocking services.
- Interruption. 29% confirmed that they hate to be interrupted by ads.
- Slow website loading time. 16% of respondents mentioned that ads cause a slower browsing experience.
Although interruption by ads is one of the main reasons to use adblock services, some users actually don’t mind some ad formats. 52% of users are okay with banner ads, and 35% are not annoyed by skippable video ads. But when it comes to interruptive formats, users get very frustrated. 31% of the adblock users surveyed said they disliked non-skippable video ads most, while 23% disliked auto-play audio ads most.
Users block ads not only on desktops and laptops but also on smartphones and tabs. In fact, mobile adblocking is growing rapidly, mainly thanks to emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region. 94% of the global mobile adblock usage is in Asia-Pacific. Globally, there are 380 million mobile devices blocking advertising.
The study by PageFair also shows that Adblock users are more educated: 45 in 100 American adblock users surveyed have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
See full report here.