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The frequency and duration of ad breaks is beginning to make me feel like I’m in that black mirror episode where they had to pay to stop ads from constantly playing. (kbin.social)

submitted 9 months ago by ReallyKinda@kbin.social to c/casualconversation@lemmy.world

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I definitely consume too much dystopian content to be a fair dystopian barometer, but the sheer amount of ads being pushed my way is starting to make me feel legitimately anxious. It feels like a techno-dystopia where all of the neat and artistic elements have been extracted and then ground into dust for our corporate overlords. Even the ‘regular’ people are just trying to sell themselves. The streamers, the funny videos, the pet videos, the porn, the reposts of all of those, so much of it is just monetizing my attention.

Do ads even influence people that much? Does anyone even eat Church’s Chicken?! Do people consider switching their car insurance? I though the postmoderns were jumping the gun a little with the pictures they painted of a future with corporate logos and other advertisements spread across every visible surface, but now I have to see 5 ads and a cookie consent pop up to look up a quick definition. Watching a friend’s youtube video? 30 seconds of rapidfire ads from 15 brands. It’s starting to feel absurd. Are we going to be okay?

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[-] yo_scottie_oh@lemmy.ml 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Unfortunately, AdGuard for iOS does not block ads in Safari as promised, at least not with the free tier (I double checked the instructions and toggled on all AdGuard related features in Settings). ~~Comparing it to uBlock in Firefox is laughable.~~

For example, I searched for lasagna recipes, still saw ads in search results on DDG. Clicked a link to allrecipes.com, and bam—multiple banner ads embedded in the page before I can even read the actual recipe, plus another one docked to the bottom of my screen. Fail.

EDIT: Clarified that I’m referring to the free tier of Ad Guard, which I think is fair to say represents most users’ experience with it.

[-] LucidNightmare@lemm.ee 1 points 9 months ago

would you mind sharing the exact url?

I do know that you need to manually update the blocklist through the AdGuard app.

Comparing it to uBlock on Firefox is laughable how? You do know that there is a way to add or remove any blocklist you want in the app. Now, this is only with the pro or paid version which is one of the reasons other than blocking ads as stated that I decided to spend my money on it.

[-] yo_scottie_oh@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

World’s Best Lasaga - scroll down past the image carousel and the little box that shows prep time, cook time, and servings. Under the prep time box, before the orange “Jump to Recipe” button, there’s an ad.

[-] LucidNightmare@lemm.ee 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

Thank you for following through with the url!

I was able to slowly scroll down all the way to the very bottom of the page and saw no ads at all.

I also need to let you know that I use their DNS protection which you might not have ticked in the settings. I wish I could help you, but I think if you dig more into the app, you’ll see more options that will allow you to block just like I have. :/

[-] yo_scottie_oh@lemmy.ml 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

That looks how I’d expect it with just the basic free protection. Based on the description of that feature in Ad Guard (emphasis mine):

Blocks ads and trackers on websites opened in Safari.

Alas, I’m not ready to spring for the premium tier, at least not yet (but never say never).

Thanks for sharing what it could look like, though.

[-] LucidNightmare@lemm.ee 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

I see what you’re saying. I instantly went for the trial because I saw how cheap the lifetime was and if it worked well enough, they could have that $12.

I apologize for misleading you. The app does work as intended for me.

I do understand about not springing for premium! I loathe ads so much that I’ll pay for something to get them out of my face. 😅