Microsoft to build ad blocker into Edge browser
In a chart laying out future features for Edge, spotted by CNET sister site ZDNet, one of the actions described for the summer 2016 update is to "build ad-blocking feature into the browser." With the next Windows 10 previews versions due shortly, Edge's ad-blocking tool could be in front of some users within the next month.
Ad blocking used to be a niche activity, but it is moving rapidly into the mainstream. Microsoft is not the first to bake that capability into its browser -- the Opera browser and Brave, the startup browser from former Mozilla CEO Brendan Eich, both incorporate the feature. Apple lets you download a third-party ad-blocker for its iPhone Safari browser.
It isn't just about blocking annoying ads. Safety questions have come to the fore after the likes of The New York Times and AOL accidentally distributed ads infected with malware.
Extensions, the light software add-ons already popular on Google's Chrome browser, will also be coming to Edge. Among them is AdBlock Plus, which was confirmed earlier this month. But with ad-blocking software built into the browser, the extension might prove extraneous.
Microsoft once ruled the browser game with its Internet Explorer, but over the last five years it has seen a dramatic decline in users as Google Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox rose to prominence. The inclusion of extensions and ad blockers shows that Microsoft is determined to be more forward-thinking as it moves on from its legacy product and presses ahead with the evolution of Windows 10 and Edge.
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