Starting tomorrow, February 15, Google will begin to block certain types of online ads using a new built-in ad blocking technology it announced last June.
Below are the basic things a user needs to know about Chrome's new ad blocker, along with a few screenshots showing what controls Google will make available to users.
⇒ Chrome's ad blocker utilizes a blacklist of sites with intrusive ads.
⇒ When a site loads, Chrome checks to see if the site's domain is on this blacklist.
⇒ If the site is not on the blacklist, Chrome will display all ads.
⇒ If the site is on the blacklist, Chrome will block ALL ADS on the site.
⇒ To block all adds, Chrome uses advertising domains found in the public
EasyList filter to detect and prevent ads from getting loaded in Chrome at the network level.
⇒ A site lands on the Chrome blacklist if it does not show ads according to the Better Ads Standard. A list of unacceptable ads is available
here.
⇒ Google has created the
Ad Experience Report for website owners.
⇒ Website owners who registered their domains with the Google Search Console service can access the Ad Experience Report for a review of their site's ads status.
⇒ Google periodically scans all domains for how they display ads.
⇒ Once Google detects that a site uses unacceptable ads, a site is added to the Chrome blacklist, and a notification is displayed in the Ad Experience Report.
⇒ Website owners have 30 days to fix problematic ads and request a reevaluation via the Ad Experience Report.
⇒ Website owners can also request a review of their sites if they've passed the 30-day deadline and Chrome is already blocking all ads on their domains.
⇒ Google plans to roll out this new ad blocking system starting February 15.
⇒ Not all Chrome user will receive this new ad blocker right away.
⇒ An "Ads" section has been added in the Chrome settings panel at
chrome://settings/content
⇒ Clicking the "Ads" option, users can enabling or disabling the ad blocker at
chrome://settings/content/ads
⇒ Clicking the URL info icon, and then clicking "Site Settings" provides access to more ad-blocking-related options.
⇒ Users can allow or block ads on a per-domain level.
⇒ Once the ad blocker is active, it will show a notification similar to the one used by Chrome's popup blocker, letting the user know that ads are being blocked on a domain.