Zero per cent of app users are running ad blockers
Not to take away from his point, but... Pi-Hole.
this post was submitted on 11 Feb 2024
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I agree that pi-hole is an option here, but yeah, the reality is that most daily users don't even know what it is. At least, not yet.
Adblock Plus and it's betters became ubiquitous in large part because they were so incredibly easy to install. As easy as gramma accidentally installing yet another yahoo toolbar on accident. Like, too easy.
Pi-Hole isn't hard to install, and there are some fantastic guides to help users get it running with essentially zero prior knowledge. But in my opinion, I think until it gets closer to "push-button" easiness, pi-hole and systems like it will really be limited to the <5% of users motivated enough to go through the steps, who aren't mortified of logging into their router's admin page. I want us to get there faster, and we're a hell of a lot closer than 10 or even 5 years ago. But we're not quite there yet.
Edit-typo
Closest thing to "push-button", are probably VPNs with a built-in ad blocker... which might as well be a pihole. Not sure what % of people use those.
Yeah, <1% would be the more technically accurate answer.
I'm still not sure why that works, honestly. If I was going to be evil I'd load the ad data via the same packets as the app payload. It wouldn't be hard and there's no way I'm the first to think of this.
The vast majority of mobile ads are served from google or apple, which likely is not where the rest if the app data is served from. It makes it particularly easy to block mobile ads from adMob or whatever the apple equivalent is called.
You don't even need pihole, there are VPN-based apps that screen and block ad domains.
Finding it ironic that I’m literally not able to finish this article because it keeps plastering the page with ads.