TL;DR version:

  • From June to August, the number of active users of the AdGuard Ad Blocker extension for Chrome dropped by about 8%. But in late August, the trend reversed. The temporary slump in user growth was offset by the increased demand in the second half of the year.

  • After a brief period of turbulence that lasted about a month, we saw the trend stabilize. And while the daily number of uninstalls was still higher than before YouTube’s crackdown, it remained consistently lower than the number of daily installs.

  • After media reports and YouTube’s own statements implied that ad blockers were doomed, and especially after more and more users started noticing that their ad blocking extensions were not working properly on YouTube, we did indeed see a spike in uninstalls. However, at the same time, the number of installs also increased significantly! It may well be that the way ad blockers’ woes were amplified in the media inadvertently boosted their popularity and helped them woo new users.

  • The takeaway from all of this is that ad blockers — first and foremost, ad-blocking extensions — were rocked by YouTube’s onslaught, but survived. And, moreover, the interest has rebounded, as is evidenced by the growth in the number of active users.

  • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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    9 months ago

    I don’t find one-click computer programs convoluted, and by installing an Android environment you have instant single-click access to apps you wouldn’t otherwise be able to use on a computer.

    I do appreciate you admitting that bluestacks is not as difficult as you are pretending it is, but pretending that single click access and operation is convoluted is not much better.

    • Evkob@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      Installing an emulator (and an app on that emulator) for something you can achieve more easily either with a native app or a website is already convoluted.

      Doing so on a PC when the UI of the emulated app is meant for a mobile phone with touch controls and a fraction of the screen size of a desktop computer? Very convoluted.

      • Varyk@sh.itjust.works
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        9 months ago

        You might want to make that statement personal, I don’t know many people who find install wizards or using a mouse as “convoluted” as you do.