Ad blocking software - consumer usage and attitudes Wave 4 - Feb 2016

Ad blocking software - consumer usage and attitudes Wave 4 - Feb 2016

Methodology Quantitative method: online omnibus Sample: 2,049 GB online adults, aged 18+ years, weighted to represent the GB adult population Dates: 19 th -22 Feb 2016. Previous waves were conducted Oct 2015, June 2015 and March 2015.

Less than 1 in 3 online adults have ever downloaded ad blocking software Have you ever downloaded software to block internet ads: Don t know, 9% Yes by demographic: Male 37% Female 20% +8 % points vs Oct 15 Yes, I have, 28% 18-24 25-34 53% 34% +10 % points vs Oct 15 35-44 33% 45-54 21% No, I haven't, 63% 55+ 18% Oct 15 ABC1 29% Yes, I have 24% No, I haven t 69% C2DE 27% Don t know 7% KIA_q7. For the following set of questions, please only think about the devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that you personally own (i.e. not including those provided by work)... Have you EVER downloaded software/ apps on any of your personal devices that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? Base: All GB adults online (2049)

Three quarters of downloaders are currently using ad blockers Those who currently use ad blocking software: By demographic: All Oct 15 Don t know 3% Male Female 80% 72% Yes 74% No 21% Don t know 5% No, 20% 18-24 88% +7 % points vs Oct 15 25-34 64% 35-44 78% Yes, 77% 45-54 55+ 74% 76% ABC1 73% C2DE 83% +10 % points vs Oct 15 KIA_q8. And do you currently use software/ apps on any of your personal devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts to the internet (577)

A fifth of online adults currently use Adblocking software Current ad blocking software users, by demographic: Male 30% 22% AD of online adults currently use ad blocking software, up from 18% in Oct 2015 Female 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ 14% 22% 26% 16% 14% 47% ABC1 21% C2DE 23% KIA_q7. For the following set of questions, please only think about the devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that you personally own (i.e. not including those provided by work)... Have you EVER downloaded software/ apps on any of your personal devices that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? KIA_q8. And do you currently use software/ apps on any of your personal devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? Base: All GB adults online (2049) / Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts to the internet (577)

Those currently using ad blocking software up 4 percentage points since Oct 2015 Mar-15 Jun-15 Oct-15 Feb-16 30% 15% 15% 18% 22% 22% 22% 23% 13% 14% 15% 21% 17% 16% 15% 15% 19% 23% 9% 9% All Male Female ABC1 C2DE KIA_q7. For the following set of questions, please only think about the devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that you personally own (i.e. not including those provided by work)... Have you EVER downloaded software/ apps on any of your personal devices that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? KIA_q8. And do you currently use software/ apps on any of your personal devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? Base: All GB adults online (2049) / Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts to the internet (577)

18-24 year olds are blocking the most, with those currently using ad blocking software up 12 percentage points since Oct 2015 47% Mar-15 Jun-15 Oct-15 Feb-16 31% 34% 35% 18% 19% 20% 22% 12% 10% 26% 16% 15% 16% 13% 16% 10% 11% 13% 14% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ KIA_q7. For the following set of questions, please only think about the devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that you personally own (i.e. not including those provided by work)... Have you EVER downloaded software/ apps on any of your personal devices that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? KIA_q8. And do you currently use software/ apps on any of your personal devices (e.g. laptop, smartphone etc.) that allows you to block adverts on the internet (e.g. Adblock Plus)? Base: All GB adults online (2049) / Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts to the internet (577)

A quarter of ad blockers are doing it on their smartphone Oct 15 72% +1 point vs Oct 15 Desktop 47% Laptop 71% Tablet 19% Smartphone 23% 41% -6 points vs Oct 15 Net 21%* +3 points vs Oct 15 Net 26%* +3 points vs Oct 15 Other: IOS: 13% Other: 19% 10% IOS: 9% Desktop Laptop Tablet Smartphone * Net figures those that are ad blocking on an IOS device and an other device, e.g. Android are counted as one respondent KIA_q9. On which, if any, of the following personal device(s) do you currently use software/ apps that allows you to block adverts on the internet? (Please select all that apply) Base: All GB adults online who currently use software/apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts to the internet (445)

The main reason for ad blocking is to block all ads 53% 18-24 s 43% Oct 15 Block all ads 57% Block certain ads 10% Block ads on certain websites 10% Protect privacy 8% Improve performance 10% 16% 35-44 s Other / don t know 4% 13% 9% 12% 12% 11% 1% To block all types of ads To block certain types of ads To block ads on certain websites To protect my privacy To improve the performance of my device To save money on my mobile data plan Other / don't know / can't recall KIA_q10new. Thinking about the LAST time you downloaded software/ apps on your personal device(s) that allowed you to block adverts on the internet Which ONE, if any, of the following was the MAIN reason for doing this? Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts to the internet (577)

Almost half would be less likely to block ads if they didn t interfere with what they were doing 60% 18-24 s 45% 40% 18-24 s 29% 12% 16% 18-24 s 11% 5% 17% 24% If the ads don't interfere with what I'm doing If there were fewer ads on webpages If the ads were more relevant to me If the ads loaded faster If ads were better designed KIA_q12. For the following question, even if you do not currently use ad blocking software/ apps we would still be interested in your opinion... Which, if any, of the following do you think would make you less likely to use ad blocking software/ apps? (Please select all that apply) Base: All GB adults online (2049) Don't know N/A - nothing would make me less likely to use ad blocking software/ apps

1 in 6 switched off their ad blocker because they couldn t access some content with it installed Main reason for switching off ad blocker: 33% 16% 10% 9% 6% 3% 3% 1% I switched to a new device I couldn t access some content with the ad blocker installed The ad blocker didn't work properly The ad blocker needed updating all the time I didn't trust the ad blocker I missed seeing all the adverts I felt bad about blocking ads on free sites I missed seeing some of the ads KIA_q13. You mentioned that you have downloaded an ad blocker on one of your devices but do not currently use one Which ONE, if any, of the following is the MAIN reason for this? Base: All GB adults online who have downloaded ad blockers but do not currently use software/ apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts on the internet (114)

Two thirds have received a notice asking them to switch off an ad blocker Ever received an ad blocking notice: Don t know 11% No, I haven't, 25% Yes, I have, 64% Yes, by demographic: Male Female 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ 68% 57% 60% 62% 52% 51% 91% ABC1 C2DE 59% 70% KIA_q14. Have you EVER received any notices from websites asking you to switch off the ad blocker on any of your devices before you can access content? Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/ apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts on the internet (577)

Over half said they would switch off their ad blocker Action taken if website only granted permission to access content with ad blocker switched off: : Net I would switch it off, by demographic: I would switch it off for all websites, 3% Don t know 7% Male Female 53% 55% I would switch it off for some websites, but not all, 19% I would switch it off for my favourite/ frequently visited websites, 31% I wouldn't switch it off at all, 39% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ 73% 61% 49% 52% 36% Net: I would switch it off 54% ABC1 C2DE KIA_q15. Please imagine a website you visited said you could only gain access to the content by switching off any ad blocking software you had installed Which ONE of the following BEST describes what you would do? Base: All GB adults online who have ever downloaded software/ apps on any of their personal devices that allows them to block adverts on the internet (577) 53% 55%

Summary Under a third of online adults have ever downloaded Adblocking software. 77% are currently using it = 22% of total online population. Blocking all ads is the main motivation for the software, but people are more tolerant of ads that don t interrupt their user experience. 1 in 6 switched off ad blocking software because they couldn t access some content with it installed Over half said they would switch off their ad blocker for some websites