Ad Blockers Usage and Demographic Statistics
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Ad Blocker Usage and Demographic Statistics

Brian Dean

Written by Brian Dean

Ad Blocker Usage and Demographic Statistics

The first ad blocking extension was introduced to the market in 2002. The number of devices using ad blockers hit a milestone of 20 million in 2009.

Today, 32.8% of internet users worldwide report using an ad blocker. And the technology has expanded beyond the desktop. Ad-blocking software for mobile devices and tablets is now widely available.

Read on to discover all of the most important statistics about ad blocker usage. Here’s a breakdown of what we’ll cover:

Ad Blocking Stats (Top Picks)

  • 32.8% of internet users worldwide (16-64 years old) use ad blocking tools at least sometimes.
  • 33% of American internet users block ads.
  • AdBlock, a popular blocking extension, is reported to have more than 62 million users and has been downloaded over 650 million times.

Ad Blocker Usage Worldwide

Globally, 32.8% of internet users use ad blockers at least sometimes when online, GWI data shows.

32.8% of internet users use ad blockers at least sometimes when online

According to another source (Blockthrough), there were an estimated 912 million ad-blocking users worldwide in Q2 2023 (416 million on desktop and 496 million on mobile).

Source: DataReportal, Blockthrough

Ad Blocking by Country

GWI found that ad blockers are generally used by at least 30% of the global population. 31 out of 52 analyzed countries showed ad blocker penetration of 30% or higher.

Among the countries studied, only 3 (Nigeria, Japan, Ghana) had ad blocker penetration of less than 20%.

Ad Blocking by Country

Here’s a list of all 52 countries that GWI analyzed, ranked by the percentage of ad blocker usage among internet users aged 16-64:

Country Usage rate
China 40.5%
Vietnam 40.0%
Indonesia 39.0%
Greece 38.7%
Taiwan 36.8%
Israel 36.0%
Hungary 35.3%
Canada 35.2%
Germany 35.1%
Poland 35.1%
Portugal 35.0%
Norway 34.3%
Austria 34.2%
Sweden 34.2%
Bulgaria 34.1%
Malaysia 34.1%
Turkey 33.9%
Spain 33.8%
Egypt 33.7%
South Africa 33.6%
France 33.2%
USA 33.0%
Singapore 32.8%
Russia 31.6%
Netherlands 31.5%
New Zealand 31.5%
Australia 31.1%
Brazil 31.0%
Saudi Arabia 30.8%
UAE 30.3%
Switzerland 30.2%
Kenya 29.9%
India 29.6%
Hong Kong 29.2%
Belgium 28.5%
Ireland 28.2%
UK 28.2%
Italy 27.0%
Denmark 26.9%
Romania 26.7%
Czechia 26.5%
Philippines 26.1%
Argentina 25.5%
Thailand 25.2%
Colombia 24.8%
Chile 23.9%
South Korea 21.6%
Mexico 21.5%
Morocco 20.9%
Nigeria 19.4%
Japan 15.8%
Ghana 13.5%

Source: DataReportal

Worldwide Ad Blocker Usage Demographics

The use of ad blockers is more prevalent among men than women. Men are the bigger users of ad blockers across every age group. Ad blockers are most popular among men aged 25-34, 36.9% of whom use ad blocking software (compared to 31.6% of women).

For both male and female users, ad blockers are more popular among those 44 and under.

Here’s a table showing gender & age demographics of global ad blocker users:

Age group % who use ad blockers (female, male)
16-24 30.3%, 35.6%
25-34 31.6%, 36.9%
35-44 29.2%, 36.8%
45-54 27.7%, 34.9%
55-64 25.4%, 32.9%

Source: DataReportal

Reasons for Using Ad Blockers

Globally, the most commonly reported reasons for using ad blockers include excessive amounts of ads (62.1%), obstructive ads (54.2%), and privacy concerns (40.5%).

Reasons for Using Ad Blockers

Here’s a list of the primary reasons given for using ad blocking tools:

Reason Share
“There are too many ads” 62.1%
“Ads get in the way” 54.2%
“To protect my privacy” 40.5%
“Ads are irrelevant to me” 39.2%
“To stop inappropriate content being shown” 38.2%
“To improve device performance” 31.5%
“To stop collecting data about me” 26.4%

Source: DataReportal

Ad Blocker User Penetration in the US

As seen above, GWI estimates 33.0% of Americans use ad blockers. But there are other estimates too.

GWI estimates 33.0% of Americans use ad blockers

For example, Blockthrough estimates desktop ad blocker penetration in the US at 27% on desktop and 22% on other devices (mobile, tablet, CTV).

Earlier eMarketer data suggests that 27% of internet users in the US in 2021 had ad blockers installed on their devices.

Sources: DataReportal, Blockthrough, eMarketer

Detected Ad Blocker Usage in the US

While up to 41% of American internet users report using ad blockers, the share of sessions in which ad blocker usage is detected is significantly lower.

Ad blocking is detected in 18% of web sessions on computers among American users. The detected usage of ad blockers has declined slightly since 2016 when the use of blocking technology was tracked in 23% of sessions.

Ad blocking is detected in 18% of web sessions on computers among American users

Here’s a complete overview of the detection rate of ad blocking software in US browsing sessions since 2016:

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Date Detection ad rate of ad blocking on computer
Q3 2016 23%
Q2 2018 21%
Q2 2020 18%

Meanwhile, the detected rate of ad blocking on mobile devices is lower than desktop. However, unlike on desktop, the percentage of mobile sessions demonstrably using ad blockers is on the rise. 7% of mobile sessions involve detectable ad blocking, an increase from 2% in 2016.

Here’s a table with a detected usage rate of mobile ad blocking in the US since 2016:

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Date Detection ad rate of ad blocking on mobile
Q3 2016 2%
Q2 2018 5%
Q2 2020 7%

Source: AudienceProject

Ad Blocker Usage by Device in the US

Ad blockers in the US are predominantly used on computers. An AudienceProject survey found that 37% of respondents blocked ads while using a desktop computer.

By comparison, only 15% of respondents said that they used blockers on mobile devices.

Tablets have the lowest rate of ad blocker usage in the US. 10% of internet users in the US say that they block ads while browsing on a tablet.

Here’s a table showing ad blocker usage in the US by device type (as of 2020):

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Device Usage rate
Computer 37%
Mobile 15%
Tablet 10%

Source: AudienceProject

Ad Blocker Usage Demographics in the US

Based on data from AudienceProject, ad blockers in the US are predominantly used by men. 49% of male respondents in the US reported the use of ad blockers. Interestingly, the disparity between male and female users is far more pronounced in the US than it is globally. Just 33% of US women use ad blockers.

By age group, ad blockers in the US are most popular with internet users aged 15-25. Meanwhile, the lowest usage of ad blockers is seen among the 36-45 age group, with 38% of respondents in this demographic using blocking software.

Here’s a table showing the US ad blocker penetration rate by age group (as of 2020):

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Age group Usage rate
15-25 45%
26-35 42%
36-45 38%
46-55 42%
56+ 39%

Another data source (eMarketer) provides a significantly different outlook. According to the eMarketer figures, US men and women use ad blockers equally, with 27.2% of each group using blocking software.

Usage in the 18-24 age group is the most common, with 41% of US internet users utilizing ad blockers. Usage of ad blockers in the US is least common for people older than 65: 15.6% of those in the oldest age bracket use ad blocking tools.

Ad Blocker Usage Demographics in the US

Here’s a complete breakdown of ad blocking usage by age group in the US (per eMarketer’s 2021 data):

Note: No new data is available after 2021.
Age group Usage rate
0-11 5.3%
12-17 35%
18-24 41%
25-34 36.8%
35-44 29.9%
45-54 29.8%
55-64 24.8%
65+ 15.6%

Sources: AudienceProject, eMarketer

Reasons for Using Ad Blockers in the US

Among Americans, the most popular reason for using ad blockers is that “websites are more manageable without banners”. 71% of AudienceProject respondents agreed with this statement.

Other commonly reported reasons for using ad blockers include privacy concerns and avoidance of irrelevant ad messages.

Here’s a list of common reasons why Americans use ad blockers (as of 2020):

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Reason Share
“Websites are more manageable without banners” 71%
“I want to avoid offensive or irrelevant images/messages” 46%
“I don’t want my behavior to be tracked” 44%
“Websites load faster without ads” 41%
“I want to limit my data usage” 19%

Source: AudienceProject

Ad Blocker User Penetration in the UK

36% of internet users in the UK use ad blockers. The share of UK users utilizing ad blockers has been on a steady decline since 2016 when almost half (47%) of those surveyed admitted to blocking ads.

36% of internet users in the UK use ad blockers

Here’s a table showing the ad blocker usage rate in the UK since 2016:

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Year Usage rate
2016 47%
2018 41%
2020 36%

Source: AudienceProject

Detected Ad Blocker Usage in the UK

15% of web sessions on UK computers involve detected use of ad blocking software. The rate of detected usage in the UK has decreased by 42.3% over the last 4 years, dropping from a 26% share of all sessions.

Here’s some historical data on the share of UK web sessions featuring detected ad blocking since 2016:

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Date Usage rate
Q3 2016 26%
Q2 2018 25%
Q2 2020 15%

The share of UK sessions in which ad blocking is detected is lower on mobile devices. Ad blockers are detected in 6% of all UK mobile browsing sessions.

We’ve produced a table showing the share of UK mobile sessions featuring detected use of an ad blocker since 2016:

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Date Usage rate
Q3 2016 2%
Q2 2018 8%
Q2 2020 6%

Source: AudienceProject

Ad Blocker Usage by Device in the UK

29% of British residents report using ad blockers on computers.

Mobile usage of ad blocking software among UK internet users stands at 12%, while 9% of users report blocking ads on tablets.

Here’s a complete overview of ad blocker usage by device type in the UK (as of 2020):

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Device Usage rate
Computer 29%
Mobile 12%
Tablet 9%

Source: AudienceProject

Ad Blocker Usage Demographics in the UK

42% of male internet users in the UK report using ad blockers, compared to 29% of female users.

By age group, usage of ad blockers is most common among younger people in the UK. A 41% share of survey respondents aged 15-25 stated that they use ad blocking tools.

Ad Blocker Usage Demographics in the UK

Here’s a table with the usage rate of ad blockers by age group in the UK (as of 2020):

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Age group Usage rate
15-25 41%
26-35 40%
36-45 34%
46-55 33%
56+ 33%

Source: AudienceProject

Reasons for Using Ad Blockers in the UK

As in the US, viewing websites without banners is the primary stated reason for using ad blockers in the UK. Avoiding irrelevant or offensive images and/or messages is the second most popular reason provided.

Here’s a table with the most commonly reported reasons for the use of ad blockers in the UK (as of 2020):

Note: No new data is available after 2020.
Reason Share
“Websites are more manageable without banners” 70%
“I want to avoid offensive or irrelevant images/messages” 50%
“I don’t want my behavior to be tracked” 39%
“Websites load faster without ads” 35%
“I want to limit my data usage” 14%

Source: AudienceProject

Conclusion

That’s it for my ad blockers roundup.

Ad blockers are still used by a minority of internet users overall. But usage has definitely become a more mainstream practice, presenting a major challenge for advertisers.

A growing number of websites restrict access to users who have installed blocking software. But detection rates remain pretty low. It will be interesting to see how the ads industry evolves.

Now it’s time to have your say:

What did you think of these ad blocker statistics? Any questions or comments? Is there anything else you would like me to mention on this page?

Don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments section below.

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