Facebook Now Disables Ad-Blocking

Many websites and companies use online advertisements to turn profits and increase overall exposure. Facebook is no exception, as a majority of the money they make is via advertisers. However, many people use ad-blocking software like Adshield or Adblock to skip these ads and get to their desired content quicker. But Facebook has turned the tables and has introduced a new software that essentially makes ads unblock able according to The Wall Street Journal.

While ads may be intrusive to some, they are necessary for people to enjoy the content they are interested in. Without paid advertisements, many companies would lose substantial amounts of money, and could not afford to produce future content. Andrew Bosworth, vice president of engineering for ads and pages, admits that ads can be a bit of a nuisance, but ad-blocking is not the way to solve the issue. “Facebook is ad-supported. Ads are a part of the Facebook experience; they’re not a tack on,” said Bosworth in a recent blog post. Online paid advertisements have been a hotly debated topic the last few years, and Facebook is the first major company to take steps towards addressing the ad-blocking issue.

Social Ads - Are They Worth The Money? from Business Builders on Vimeo.

While not popular among users, the decision to disable ad-blockers doesn’t just benefit Facebook. The company has decided to tailor the ads users see based on their personal profiles. Facebook’s algorithms will take into account your location, hobbies and other information to bring users ads that might be more pertinent to their interests. These changes come shortly after Facebook announced major changes to their news feed algorithms which we covered here. All these changes have been done in order to establish a middle ground with the impactful decision. Facebook makes their money, businesses still get to advertise to the masses, and consumers will now see ads they are more likely to find useful.