Microsoft is set to become the latest tech giant to provide adblocking features for its users, providing further concern for publishers dependent on revenue from online ads.
The tech company, according to ZDNet, plans to build adblocking features into its Microsoft Edge browser, which is replacing Internet Explorer.
This move would mean that users of Edge would no longer have to add adblocking extensions such as Adblock Plus to their browsers.
According to Microsoft’s website 200m devices are running Windows 10, which introduced Microsoft Edge.
The move adds to the woes of digital publishers, which in the past year have seen several large technology companies introducing measures making it easier to block ads.
In September, Apple began allowing third-party apps to block ads in its Safari web browser, and Samsung earlier this week began rolling out an update to its smartphone browser that automatically blocks ads.
There was also the controversial announcement by mobile network Three that it plans to introduce adblocking across its UK and Italian networks, making it the first European operator to do so.
It said the move was not an attempt to “eliminate” all mobile advertising but merely a move to “give customers more control, choice and greater transparency over what they receive”.
The fifth most popular desktop browser, Opera, recently revealed it is introducing built-in adblocking.
According to ZDNet, Microsoft’s plans were revealed at its Build 16 conference in San Francisco on Wednesday.
It was included on a list on slide from a session titled “Microsoft Edge: what’s next for Microsoft’s new browser and web platform”.
Google, which makes more than 90% of its revenue from internet advertising, has not revealed any plans for in-built adblocking.
