Opera is introducing built in ad blocking tools to its desktop and mobile browsers, the company announced Wednesday. Announced for developers back in March, ad blocking will now be available to all users of Opera browsers, which serves as an alternative to Google’s Chrome, Apple’s Safari and Microsoft’s Edge.
Increasingly browser builders are moving towards making it easier for their users to enjoy ad free Internet use, but the activity remains controversial. Blocking ads speeds up the loading of Web pages, but ads also support free online services, from Facebook to Google Search.
Ad blocking won’t be turned on by default. users will have to turn it on in their settings or preferences menu. The benefit of using a native ad blocker rather than downloading a third party tool is that it makes browsing faster and reduces memory consumption, according to Opera.
