Installing an ad-blocking software to your web browser is saving you data, SFU research shows.
Ready Labs Inc, a spinoff company of SFU’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) New Media Lab, has produced new research regarding the efficiency of ad-blocking programs through their new Adblock Plus Efficacy Study, shining new light on a previously overlooked field of research.
Adblock Plus is an internet extension available for various web browsers that can block computer ads for website users. While it is not associated with AdBlock, a popular free extension used to block ads, both programs serve the same purpose. Through Ready Labs, Christopher Dickert, a Hellenic Studies research associate examined the quantitative effect of using Adblock Plus, a pay-to-use software program, on network usage.
To run the trials, two computers, one with Adblock Plus and the other without, were used by student volunteers to surf various websites, such as CNN, the New York Times, and eBay. The study found that Adblock Plus can reduce network usage by 25 per cent, and up to 40 per cent if used only for video surfing sessions.
The immediate effect of using ad-blocking software is not limited to the decrease in network usage. Dickert explained that indirectly, it could also save time for users, especially for students, by eliminating distracting ads, potentially increasing productivity.
For individuals, the reduction in network usage may not amount to major savings, but for companies and universities operating large networks being charged byte for byte, reductions in usage could lead to significant savings.
Ad-blocking software could also reduce administrative and maintenance costs for servers running with high usage volumes by reducing the load. For SFU, this could mean more capital reallocated for students and companies by upgrading existing technologies.
The survey concluded that Adblock Plus can do more than save money for users in the long run, as suggested by Dickert. “Ad-blocking software such as Adblock Plus represent somewhat of an existential threat to many of the largest technology companies who depend on online advertisements for their bottom lines,” he noted.
Dickert explained that this could have ramifications for how freely accessible some web services are: “In fact, online advertisements represent the economic foundation for much of the content online that we, as Internet users, enjoy free of charge.”
He concluded, “Understanding the impact of ad-blocking software on these foundations is an important part of an ongoing public policy discussion that ultimately impacts us all.”
