Who likes to see the featured annoying ads that are on the internet? Probably not anyone.
Nowadays there are many such apps, extensions, and software that block ads for you so that these ads stop showing on your web browser.
Two such popular software and extension are Ad Blocker and uBlock respectively.
Key Takeaways
- Ad Blocker is a general term for software that blocks ads, while uBlock is a specific open-source ad-blocking extension.
- Ad Blocker may refer to various extensions, plugins, or apps, while uBlock is a single product available for multiple browsers.
- uBlock is known for its efficiency and low resource usage, whereas other ad blockers might consume more system resources.
Ad Blocker vs uBlock
The difference between Ad Blocker and uBlock is that Ad Blocker is a software application. On the other hand, uBlock is a browser extension. However, both of these provide the same feature of blocking advertisements to its users.
Ad blocker is also known as ad filtering. Ad blocker can be defined as software that can block advertisements that are featured online in a web browser, a network, or an application.
Browser extensions and various other techniques can be used by the users or the experts to block the ads which are featured on the internet.
uBlock Origin is a browser extension that is open-sourced and can be used without any charges. The uBlock is used for filtering various contents on the internet and even blocking various advertisements.
The extension of the uBlock is accessible for various browsers like Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Pale Moon, and version of Safari before 13.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Ad Blocker | uBlock |
|---|---|---|
| Released | The software, Ad Blocker was launched in the market on 8 December 2009. | The browser extension, uBlock, was launched on 23 June 2014. |
| Users | At the end of 2019, the ad blocker has about 763.5 million users. | As of last year, the uBlock had about 5 million active users. |
| Charges | The payment in ad blocker is completely optional for its users. | uBlock is a completely free browser extension. |
| Founder | Ad Blocker was founded by Michael Gundlach. | uBlock was founded by Raymond Hill. |
| Availability | Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, Opera Mini. | Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari. |
What is Ad Blocker?
However, numerous people also believe that ad blocker do not block the advertisements but block the requests of the web that install content into the browser.
It can also be understood as the installations of various featured ads on the internet being stopped by the ad blockers.
The blockage of ads being downloaded on your browser results in the fast loading of web pages on the device which provides you the finest experience.
Filter list is the simplest on which the ad blocker technology depends. The filter list decides what content needs to be blocked or hidden and what content should be permitted to be shown on your browser.
The list is uncomplicatedly comprised of URLs in the form of either blocklist or allow list. When you open a website ad blocker rapidly visits the list blocklist to check whether that website is added to the list or not.
And if it is present on the list, then it does not allow you to access the site and the ad is not installed into a webpage.
The advertisements which are featured on the internet are in various forms such as pictorial presentations, videos, banners, and so on.
Many users might not feel comfortable with these featured advertisements thus the ad blocker technology is used by them to improve their internet surfing experience.
What is uBlock?
uBlock has also received applause from various websites of technology. The first name of uBlock was μblock but later it was changed to uBlock.
uBlock was invented by Raymond Hill. The app was developed by the inventor to use the block list which was maintained by the community.
The extension was initially released in June 2014. The initial release of the app was as Opera and Google Chrome extension.
By the end of 2015, the extension of the uBlock was further enlarged to various other browsers. Due to some problems, the version of the app was renamed as uBlock Origin.
uBlock Origin name was still used by the founder Raymond Hill for the extension. uBlock is sometimes written as uBlock⁰. The app was reported to have a markable growth of 833 percent in ten months period of tracking.
The tracking period of the growth of the extension was ended in August 2015.
This massive growth is the most remarkable growth among the listed software. uBlock Origin was also attached to the repositories for Ubuntu 16.04 and Debian 9 in January 2016. ‘Pick of the month’ was awarded to the unBlock extension by Mozilla for May 2016.
The main aim of the uBlock is to give its users the freedom of enforcing their own content filtering choices.
Lead developer and creator of the software, Raymond Hill is still actively constructing and maintaining the software, as of the current year.
Main Differences Between Ad Blocker and uBlock
- Ad Blocker has more users worldwide as compared to uBlock.
- Ad Blocker denies the request of web browsers for their advertisements while uBlock stops the advertisements.
- Ad Blocker is much more user and beginner-friendly as compared to uBlock.
- Ad Block consumes more memory than uBlock.
- Ad Blocker provides more privacy to its users as compared to uBlock.
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/8167846/
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00207721.2015.1086930
Last Updated : 20 July, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
