Apple targets Google by blocking ads on mobile devices

In what could keep global media execs awake at night, Apple recently released its new IOS 9 operating system that allows content blockers to be installed on Apple mobile devices, blocking ads and website tracking software. As an indication on how far reaching and severe this could be, according to Roy Morgan Research, approx. 1.6 million Australians say they clicked online ads in the past month, of which over 375,000 were via a mobile device. As a result several paid content blocking apps, were reportedly top of the Apple app store charts following the release.

Further and clearly as a direct target at Google’s largest revenue stream, these apps also enable the blocking of tracking software such as Google Analytics and Chartbeat, two of the most popular tracking software programs. As a result web publishers may no longer be able to provide you with statistics on impressions, page visits and popular pages as a result and may, according to some industry experts, be Apple’s attempt to push Facebook’s Instant Articles or Apple’s news App (not yet released in Australia) of which they receive a percentage of ad revenue.

In the longer term this could lead to a greater emphasis on native advertising or sponsored advertorial style content within an article and may shape the way Australian’s are presented with online ads and revenue associated with these.