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Ad Blocker Usage and Demographic Statistics

Backlinko Team

Written by Backlinko Team

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, 31.5% 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)

  • An estimated 912 million internet users use ad blocking across desktop and mobile.
  • 31.5% of internet users worldwide (16-64 years old) use ad blocking tools at least sometimes.
  • 32.2% of American internet users block ads.
  • In 2024, ad blocking solutions were forecasted to cost publishers $54 billion in lost advertising revenue, which equals around 8% of total digital ad spend.

Ad Blocker Usage Worldwide

Globally, 31.5% of internet users use ad blockers at least sometimes when online as of Q1 2024, GWI data shows.

31.5% 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).

Here’s a table with the number of active ad blocking users over time since Q1 2012:

Date Ad Blocking Users Worldwide
Q1 2012 44 million
Q1 2014 240 million
Q1 2016 558 million
Q1 2018 691 million
Q1 2020 764 million
Q4 2021 820 million
Q2 2022 716 million
Q4 2022 850 million
Q2 2023 912 million

Source: DataReportal, Blockthrough

Ad Blocking by Country

GWI found that ad blockers are generally used by at least 30% of the global population. 28 out of 53 analyzed countries showed ad blocker penetration of 30% or higher.

Among the countries studied, only 2 (Japan, Ghana) had ad blocker penetration of less than 20%.

Ad Blocking by Country

Here’s a list of all 53 countries that GWI analyzed, ranked by the percentage of ad blocker usage among internet users aged 16-64:

Country Usage rate
Indonesia 40.0%
Vietnam 39.1%
China 37.6%
Hungary 37.3%
Greece 36.2%
Portugal 35.4%
South Africa 35.2%
Croatia 35.0%
Poland 34.3%
Israel 33.8%
Taiwan 33.8%
Norway 33.4%
Russia 33.2%
Malaysia 33.0%
Spain 32.5%
Sweden 32.5%
Austria 32.2%
USA 32.2%
Canada 32.0%
Germany 32.0%
Brazil 31.9%
Kenya 31.6%
Egypt 31.3%
France 31.0%
Switzerland 30.9%
Singapore 30.7%
New Zealand 30.4%
Bulgaria 30.1%
Netherlands 29.9%
Czechia 29.8%
Australia 29.7%
Hong Kong 29.7%
Romania 29.5%
Turkey 28.6%
UK 28.6%
Belgium 28.5%
UAE 28.0%
India 27.6%
Morocco 27.6%
Ireland 27.0%
Italy 26.8%
Saudi Arabia 26.8%
Denmark 25.9%
Argentina 25.4%
Philippines 25.3%
Chile 24.8%
Nigeria 24.6%
Thailand 23.7%
Colombia 22.8%
Mexico 22.5%
South Korea 21.3%
Japan 15.8%
Ghana 10.6%

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, 36.2% 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 the use of ad blocking by age and gender:

Age group Percentage of Internet Users Who Use Ad Blockers (Female, Male)
16-24 28.2%, 35.0%
25-34 31.6%, 36.2%
35-44 31.1%, 33.5%
45-54 25.5%, 32.6%
55-64 23.7%, 31.7%

Source: DataReportal

Reasons for Using Ad Blockers

Globally, the most commonly reported reasons for using ad blockers include excessive amounts of ads (63.2%), obstructive ads (53.4%), and privacy concerns (40.3%).

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” 63.2%
“Ads get in the way” 53.4%
“To protect my privacy” 40.3%
“Ads are irrelevant to me” 39.4%
“To stop inappropriate content being shown” 36.5%
“To improve device performance” 30.6
“To stop collecting data about me” 25.2%

Source: DataReportal

Ad Blocker User Penetration in the US

As of Q1 2024, GWI estimates that 32.2% of Americans use ad blockers. But there are other estimates too.

GWI estimates 32.2% of Americans use ad blockers

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

According to Tinuiti data, 31% of US adult consumers claim to use ad blockers to ensure their privacy (as of March 2023).

Sources: DataReportal, Blockthrough, eMarketer

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%

Similarly, Blockthrough data shows that Americans are more likely to use ad blockers on desktops than other devices like mobile, tablet, CTV (27% vs. 22%).

Source: AudienceProject, Blockthrough

Ad Blocker Usage Demographics in the US

According to Tinuiti survey data (responses collected between February 2023 and April 2023), baby boomers are more likely to use an ad blocker than Gen Z consumers (32% vs. 27%).

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: Marketing Dive, 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 rate
“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 Ad Blocker Usage Rate
2016 47%
2018 41%
2020 36%

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 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 rate
“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.