Google is currently in the midst of tumultuous happenings around its advertising platforms, and several things have changed as the result of the fallout. Most recently, Google Chrome for mobile devices has just gotten a major feature that blocks “intrusive” ads, but the feature is on a special Canary Chrome build and still unavailable for mainstream users.
Going from the cadence of past feature rollouts, it’s likely that the new ad blocking feature will be available to the public in one of the upcoming Google Chrome versions. That’s if the feature makes the final cut. But if you look at what’s going on with Google’s agitated advertisers, it’s more likely than not that the feature is going to be pushed through at any cost.
This is merely one of the housekeeping initiatives that Google has been taking of late. The move is meant to inspire confidence in advertisers, appease regulators and provide a better experience for its users.
Interestingly, the new Google Chrome feature on the Canary build is turned on by default, which means it will start blocking intrusive ads like autoplay videos, interstitials and pop-ups right after installation. Google says it won’t ruin the ad experience, but rather enhance it with high-quality, non-distractful advertising.
The Canary build of Google Chrome with this ad blocking feature is available to download, but only do it if you’ve got developer experience. Canary builds, by definition, are extremely unstable and buggy.
Also of note is the fact that Google Chrome is not the only platform getting a Spring-Summer cleaning. Google Search has also been under the radar for the way paid content is displayed, and Google recently booked a $2.7 billion charge towards a fine in the EU for showing its comparison shopping results on top of those of other paying advertisers.
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