Adblock Plus bypasses middleman and launches their own mobile browser
Adblock Plus has now chosen to take on a greater challenge after the company recently announced it is formally launching its very own mobile browser.
If the name Adblock Plus rings a bell, it's probably because it is the same company responsible for creating the most widely downloaded ad-blocking extension for most web browsers.
Ad-blocking extensions are extremely popular, with around 144 million people utilizing at least some kind of this software whenever they are online. The 144 million figure is also up 70% from the previous year, according to Forbes.
The extension from Adblock Plus has already been downloaded over 400 million times.
Given the immense popularity of this specific kind of extension, and the fact that Adblock Plus actually creates the most popular version of that kind of extension, it makes a ton of sense for the German company to rationalize that launching a browser is a good idea.
Time will tell if the new browser can catch on. It is currently in Beta mode as the company tries to pinpoint any issues that may come up from using it, according to CNN Money.
Adblock Plus said the reason they chose to launch a browser was because smartphones didn't allow extensions, so they figured to just get around that problem with their own product.
Aside from simply blocking ads, the new browser is also expected to help users save battery power, according to the official blog of Adblock Plus. It can do so mainly because it will cut back on digital content loads.
Users will also get the other benefits they have already received from the Adblock Plus extension, including safer browsing, automatic ad blocking, and even the option to selectively allow non-intrusive ads.
The new mobile browser is currently available for Android devices. An iOS version of the browser is expected to launch in the near future.