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Google announced today that Chrome will start blocking ads with many resources. Examples include ads that mine cryptocurrencies, are poorly programmed, or are not optimized for network use. Chrome will block these ads because they “deplete battery life, saturate already tense networks, and cost money.” There are three possible thresholds that an ad can reach to be blocked: 4 MB of network data, 15 seconds of CPU usage in any 30 second period, or 60 seconds of total CPU usage. Google will experiment with this change “in the coming months” and implement it in stable Chrome “in late August.”
Not many know that the world’s most popular browser has a built-in ad blocker. Two years ago, Google joined Coalition for Better Ads, a group that specifies standards for how the industry should improve ads for consumers. Chrome blocks all Ads (including those that Google owns or serves) on websites displaying non-compliant ads, as defined by the coalition. In addition to ads, Google has also used Chrome’s ad blocker to address “abusive experiences.” Therefore, the tool is intended more to punish bad sites than to completely block ads.
Because ad blockers harm publishers (like VentureBeat) who create free content, blocking all ads would harm not only one of the few monetization tools on the web, but also Alphabet’s main source of income. In fact, Google has a vested interest in improving the web user experience. Therefore, Google’s approach is to start small and gradually build up, gradually changing the way business owners, marketers, and developers create websites. Given its reach, which includes over a billion Chrome users and over 2.5 billion monthly active Android devices, not to mention Google Search and Google Ads, anyone with a website should track what Google prioritizes.
Disproportionate share of device resources
Google says that “a fraction of a percentage of the ads” consumes a disproportionate share of the device’s resources, including battery and network data. The company measured the ads Chrome sees and targeted the most egregious ads, meaning those that “use more CPU or network bandwidth than 99.9% of all detected ads for that resource.”
The thresholds (4 MB of network data, 15 seconds of CPU usage in any 30-second period, 60 seconds of total CPU usage) represent just 0.3% of the ads, Google said. And yet they account for 26% of the network data used by ads and 28% of all ad CPU usage. The following Google chart shows the overall percentage of heavy and non-heavy ads and their total resource usage.
Chrome will limit the resources that a graphic ad can use before the user interacts with the ad. When an ad reaches one of the thresholds, the ad frame will navigate to an error page that simply says “Ad removed.”
By clicking Details, the user will be informed that the ad has used too many resources.
Extended deployment
Google wants to launch its weight to reduce those numbers. Presumably, he will then adjust the thresholds. The goal? “To save our users’ batteries and data plans, and give them a good web experience.”
But Google doesn’t want to just flip a switch on this heavy advertising intervention. The company seeks to give ad creators and tool providers time to “prepare and incorporate these thresholds into their workflows.” Google will also share reports with advertisers so they can see how Chrome’s ad blocker is affecting their ads.
