Apple’s move to put “ad blockers” on iOS is troubling publishers

According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, publishers are apparently peeved at tech giant Apple’s move to make it easier for millions of users of iPhones and iPads to block ads on their devices.

Apple will be putting “ad blockers” within the reach of its iPhone and iPad users when it launches the next iOS version – iOS 9 – next month. The new iOS will give users the ability to install apps which prevent ads from showing up in the Apple Safari browser.

Evidently, Apple’s “ad blockers” have been troubling publishers because of the potential disruption threat posed to $70 billion annual mobile-marketing business, which is anticipated by publishers and tech companies to generate increasing revenue from the growing number of mobile users.

Apple’s decision to put “ad blockers” means that fewer iPhone and iPad users will see ads on their devices; thereby resulting in less revenue for publishers, as well as other mobile-marketing players like ad networks.

About Apple’s move to make “ad blockers” available to iPhone and iPad users, Jason Kint - CEO of digital publishers association called Digital Content Next – said: “The ad-blocking problem is real and growing, and ad-blocking on iOS is only going to accelerate it.”