IAB study claims 27% of Australians use adblocking technology
New research claims 27% of Australians are using adblocking technology, with fear of viruses rather than intrusive ads cited as the single biggest driver for uptake.
That number is significantly higher than previous estimates on the use of adblockers in Australia, with Group M’s Tim Whitfield saying his research showed levels at around 7.3% earlier this year, while an executive at the world’s biggest adblocker said he could not see global usage topping 28%.
Adblocker usage. Source: IAB
The figure was revealed in the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s ‘Adblocking in Australia’ study, which saw research firm Pureprofile ask more than 1,800 people on their knowledge and experience with adblockers.
Hi Darren,
With the high percentage of opt outs from adblockers,seems like the threat of virus attack may not be so acute.
“educate consumers on the safety of ad supported sites as there is clearly some confusion about advertising delivering viruses”
I would say those consumers are educated. Advertising on the web does link to malware. Ads are often misleading, duplicating user interface elements so they are clicked on in error. The advertising industry hasn’t taken even one malware site to court, so it’s happy enough with the situation. Leaving consumers to take their own measures to protect their data and photos from cryptolocker and the like.