Dive Brief:

• Ad-blocking technology made national headlines with the release of iOS 9 and its popular ad-blocking paid apps, but users may just be seeking a better website experience instead of simply not wanting to see ads, according to Dean Murphy, founder of Crystal, one of the top paid iOS 9 ad-blocking apps in the App Store with over 100,000 downloads. 
• Murphy conducted an informal poll of ad-block users that found 71% respondents would whitelist websites that are optimized for performance, have transparent privacy policies, and only serve "acceptable" ads.
• 22% of those surveyed by Murphy said they would pay to support sites if they could receive more content or no ads. 

Dive Insight:

Ad-blocking technology is concern for publishers, marketers and ad tech firms. It's become a hot topic of conversation since the release of Apple’s iOS 9, which comes with the ability to add ad-blocking tech to the mobile Safari browser (but not mobile apps). Ad blocking apps have been the top paid apps in the App Store since the release of iOS 9. 

Dean Murphy, the developer behind one of the leading ad-blocking apps, believes that consumer aren’t necessarily looking to block ads. Instead, they are just trying to have the best experience possible while surfing the mobile web. 

“The issue is really about performance," Murphy told Ad Exchanger. "The majority of people, myself included to a degree, are not that bothered about the privacy intrusion on particular websites. The profiling is just part of what the websites do and how they make their money. Facebook and Twitter, for example, are free because, in exchange, you hand over a portion of your data for them to use.”