With recent and continued publicity on the topic of ad-blocking you will likely have heard the expression, "Ad-blockers are a blunt instrument". Generally what this statement referred to is the fact that ad-blocking software does not differentiate between good and bad advertising, it simply blocks all ads. However, it doesn't stop there. Ad-blocking is blocking a lot more than just adverts.

1. 11
Analyse, Communicate and Re-engage
Ad-blockers
Blocking more than ads

2. 22
Blunt instruments not precise weapons
2
Ad-blockers have often been referred to as blunt instruments in that they don’t distinguish between poor or quality
advertising by simply blocking all kinds of ads. However a more troubling aspect of adblocking as blunt instruments is
that there are many cases where adblockers not only block ads but block other web content such as HTML, CSS and
Javascript which is not advertising - The effects of this on certain publisher websites varies from small issues to problems
which can render the site non functional for its users even where advertising on does not exist.
Not all ad-blocking software is equal.
Whilst the most popular forms of ad-blocking exist for desktop based web browsers in the form of 3rd party plugins
which are installed by a few clicks, not all of the ad-blocking software uses the same set of filters to remove web
content such as advertising.
Lists at the heart of ad-blocking functionality
At the heart of an adblockers ability to block content such as advertising are files known as Filter Lists. These filter lists
are like a database for the adblocker to check against in order to determine what requests made by the browser will be
blocked. All ad-blocking software use some kind of filter lists.
The most popular and used filter list - Easy List
The EasyList subscriptions are lists of filters designed for Adblock Plus but also used by many adblockers that
automatically remove unwanted content from the internet, including annoying adverts, bothersome banners and
troublesome tracking. The subscriptions are currently maintained by four authors, Fanboy, MonztA, Famlam and Khrin,
who are ably assisted by an ample forum community.

3. 33
EasyPrivacy - Where the damage gets done.
3
The next most popular filter list used by adblockers is EasyPrivacy list.
“EasyPrivacy is an optional supplementary subscription that completely removes all forms
of tracking from the internet, including web bugs, tracking scripts and information collectors,
thereby protecting your personal data.”
Source: https://easylist.adblockplus.org/en/
EasyPrivacy is supported by Adblock Plus, Adblock and many other adblocking software applications.
*Active by default in UBlock Origin
AdBlock

4. 44
Checking in for your British Airways
flight online is pretty straight forward
and creates no issues when you have
no ad-blocker installed.
4
www.britishairways.com
without adblock
You can’t
check-in
online

5. 55
However, when an ad-blocker is
installed the ability to tick the
acceptance of terms and conditions is
removed therefore you cannot proceed
and check-in. Of course the BA site
thinks you have not accepted the T&C’
s and presents an error
As shown in the image below
5
www.britishairways.com
with adblock
You can’t
check-in
online

6. 66
Vodafone UK offer it’s users with a
useful tool to track the progress of their
orders. Simply enter your order details
and find out where it is
Broken
order
tracking
6
www.vodafone.co.uk
without adblock

7. 77
With an adblocker and easy privacy list
the software used by Vodafone to track
the order is completely blocked by easy
privacy list
Broken
order
tracking
7
www.vodafone.co.uk
with adblock

8. 88
A look at www.bp.com on the
homepage shows a video on its new
“Dirt-busting ACTIVE technology”
The video which is part of the content
does not intrude or auto play.
Blocked
native
video
8
www.bp.com
without adblock

9. 99
With an adblocker using EasyPrivacy,
the native video player is blocked and
simply server a black blank space
where the video should be with no
obvious warning or error to the user
Blocked
native
video
9
www.bp.com
with adblock

10. 1010
When arriving for the first time on the
Liverpool FC homepage fans are
normally presented with the latest
special offer. In this case a 2015/16
away shirt offer.
10
www.liverpoolfc.com
without adblock
Liverpool fans
lose their
shirt

11. 1111
With an adblocker and easy privacy list
installed fans no longer get the chance
to see the latest special offers from the
club
11
www.liverpoolfc.com
with adblock
Liverpool fans
lose their
shirt

12. 1212
Umbro provide a wonderful blog of
reviews on their products including
video, narrative along with highly
professional photography and the
ability for their visitors to comment on
each of the blogs
12
www.umbro.com
without adblock
Umbro
lose their
boots

13. 1313
With an adblocker using EasyPrivacy
list, the blog is completely trashed, with
videos and images blocked along with
the ability for any such user to provide
feedback or comments on the blog. It
looks like there is no further information
available
13
www.umbro.com
with adblock
Umbro
lose their
boots

14. 1414
Looking to improve their service for
visitors, O2 ask users if they would fill
out a short survey after visiting their
site
14
www.o2.com
without adblock
You can’t
have your
say

15. 1515
With adblocker and easyprivacy list all
surveys provided by the survey
company edigitalsurvey.com are
blocked. You simply never know there
was a survey option
15
www.o2.com
with adblock
You can’t
have your
say

16. 1616
And it’s not just O2 who fail to present
the option of a survey to all their users.
The entire portfolio of sites using
edigitalsurvey.com by well known UK
outlets are blocked
16
www.edigitalsurvey.com
Other sites blocked with adblock
You can’t
have your
say

17. 1717
The Cookie Law is a piece of privacy
legislation that requires websites to get
consent from visitors to store or
retrieve any information on a computer,
smartphone or tablet
Procter & Gamble product websites
have taken care to provide such
notices with additional consumer
options relating to cookies
17
www.ariel.co.uk
Without ad-blocker
Cleaning and
washing
cookie
notices

18. 1818
However the cookie notice bar used by
many Procter & Gamble UK product
websites are blocked to all ad-blockers
with EasyPrivacy list active
18
www.pg.com
With ad-blocker
Cleaning and
washing
cookie
notices

19. 1919
Social sharing is an important part of
spreading the word and driving interest
to your website. Landrover like many
of the top UK websites use a piece of
software called addthis.com to make
sharing easy and available accross a
wide range of social platforms
19
www.landrover.co.uk
with adblock
You can’t
share
this

20. 2020
Unfortunately the software utility used
by Land Rover and many others is
called Addthis is blocked and therefore
the sharing options do not render for
the user to see and share.
20
www.landrover.co.uk
with adblock
You can’t
share
this

21. 2121
Those were examples of what you see
21
The previous slides show visual examples of what ad-blocking can break beyond advertising and if a website is
meticulously compared with and without an adblocker installed it is possible to see what gets broken. This task is time
consuming and and tedious and no simple ready made solution is currently available to automatically make these tests
and comparisons. However, in addition to what you see many ad-blocking software applications also block / break other
critical components of a publisher's website such as analytics, site optimisation applications, performance measurement
Below are just some examples of what is blocked by Easy Privacy List and is not something obvious to see.

22. Analyse, Communicate, Engage
Visit us to find out how adblocking affects
you
https://oriel.io/
or follow us on Twitter
@oriel_hq
Further information:
Aidan Joyce - CEO - aidan@oriel.io
Oliver Meister - Legal & Finance - oliver@oriel.io
22