Adblock Browser for Android With Built-In Ad-Blocking Now Available

Eyeo GmbH, the makers of the popular Adblock Plus browser extension for blocking ads, has released a mobile Web browser for Android with built-in ad blocker. The company says an iOS version is coming soon as well.

The company stresses that the Adblock Browser for Android blocks ads automatically and touts it to be "the first browser of its kind to offer users ad blocking as an integrated feature."

Interested people can head to Adblock Browser for Android Beta testers community page on Google+ and can choose "Beta Opt-In" where the access is available. The Adblock Browser 1.0 for Android is currently in open beta.

The company further notes that the app in beta mode is not available via Google Play because Google takes some time to review apps, and thus users might not be able to download it immediately.

The Adblock Browser is based on Firefox for Android and the company explains they admire Mozilla, "both as a project and as a company." Felix Dahlke of Adblock Plus adds, "Mozilla's openness is what made Adblock Plus possible in the first place. And since we have to bet on one platform, we decided to bet on Firefox."

Notably, an Adblock Plus extension is already available for Firefox for Android, but the company notes that compared to the Adblock Plus extension for Firefox for Desktop, the extension for Android has a lot of limitations, especially in terms of user interface. This is the reason it decided to go ahead with creating its own browser, albeit based on Firefox for Android, to give users a more specific UI with nearly all the configuration options they could enjoy on the desktop version.

Another reason to take the approach of its browser is due to the lack of success of its earlier offering, Adblock Plus for Android, an app that was thrown out of Google Play due to "interference with another service of product", thereby severely limiting its adoption. The app was also limited with the ability to only block adds over HTTP, leaving users vulnerable to ads on encrypted connections.

Further explaining reasons to sticking with Firefox for Android UI, Dahlke said, "We're currently sticking largely to Firefox for Android's UI, but we will over time move things in a different direction, based on our own users' needs and wishes. We will make adblocking (and content blocking in general) more flexible and easier to configure. And we will look into ways of bringing Adblock Browser and the desktop browser of your choice together in a way that makes sense."

The company on its another blog adds that its primary goal is to build the mobile browser with adblocking integration where it will try to acknowledge bug fixes and address usability issues.