The software will be baked in to the company's stock browser, though you can ignore it by using Chrome, Firefox, or other alternative browsers.
Asus tossed another grenade into the ad-blocking battlefield: The company apparently has plans to include AdBlock Plus turned on by default in all its forthcoming phones and tablets, according to an interview with Vice’s Motherboard.
AdBlock Plus’s cofounder and CEO, Till Faida, told Motherboard the software will be baked into the Asus stock browser, blocking most ads automatically unless they are part of AdBlock Plus’s Acceptable Ads program. If you want to avoid any ad filtering, however, you can always use Chrome, Firefox, or any of the other browsers available from the Play Store. Given how much development effort goes into the major browsers, you’re likely to get a better experience anyway.
Ad blocking is a controversial subject that was brought to the forefront this year when Apple began allowing ad blockers for the iOS version of Safari. Blocked ads means lost revenue for publishers, particularly those who are supported solely through advertising. Yet oppressive ads that automatically play videos or cover the page with a pop-up can be an annoying experience for readers, and has driven many to seek out ad blockers. Until ads become less intrusive, consumers will still seek out ways to suppress them.