Why are ad-blocking extensions so easy to come across and install on PCs, but so difficult or convoluted to install on a phone?

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In most any browser on Windows, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, finding an ad-blocking extension is a two-click solution. Yet, the process for properly blocking ads on a phone is exponentially more complicated, and the fact that many websites have their own apps such as Youtube mean that you might have to find an ad-blocking solution for each app on a case-by-case approach. Why is this the case?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Phones are built around a “sealed” system which you can’t change, and strongly isolated apps. This is much more secure than what you get on PC, but also prevents you from blocking ads.

Additionally, on PC you’re much more likely to use a web site, while on the phone you will almost certainly use an app. That’s because installing apps is easier and more common on phones – (unfortunately) few people will shun your service because it requires an app, while on Desktop, requiring or pushing you to install something would lose a company most customers. This is partially because it’s still harder to create a good experience for touch devices with unreliable network on the web.

You can easily block ads on the web on Android if you install Firefox. Chrome doesn’t support it for obvious reasons (Google makes most of its money from ads).

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