Advertisements are deemed a necessary evil by most; through enduring advertisements, the sites we visit make money to remain free to use. It seems logical, but this transaction isn’t so cut-and-dried. Instead of just taking up space, ads are learning about the user with each site they visit. Imagine if newspapers knew what the reader was looking at and not being able to turn a page without reading ads. No one would read it. Applying this same perspective to online advertisements should make any reasonable person concerned, yet only 6% of online users use an ad blocker (http://downloads.pagefair.com/reports/2015_report-the_cost_of_ad_blocking.pdf).
When someone visits a site, they’re agreeing to let that site’s code run on his or her computer. In actuality, the advertiser’s code is also allowed through, and it does much more than display ads. Data on the visitor’s browsing history, interests, and purchases are mined. As more data is collected, the ads configure themselves to appeal to the “you” it creates. The device owner is offered no choice in allowing this extra code to run. This is by no means a fair exchange. Under this arrangement, users’ privacy and protection erodes. Ads are notorious for installing spyware and malware within their code. Infected computers could leave users prone to fraudulent schemes like ransomed file access or identity theft. It’s obvious that the user is at too great of a risk to accept these practices.
The new frontier for advertisers is the mobile market. Mobile browsing is beginning to take up a sizable portion of overall internet usage. Advertisers are able to exploit this popularity in a similar manner, with additional opportunities to exploit users in applications. Users have been slower to address these exploits; Pagefair found only 1.6% of its adblocking traffic came from mobile devices during a quarter (http://downloads.pagefair.com/reports/2015_report-the_cost_of_ad_blocking.pdf). This leaves mobile devices as sitting ducks, which is why SEVEN Networks developed AdClear.
AdClear's patented technology filters out advertisements via an onboard VPN. This keeps AdClear from slowing down internet connections while saving users' battery life and data. Our optional SSL certificate blocks encrypted advertisements, which most ad blockers cannot stop. This protection extends to applications as well. The greatest reason to use AdClear, though, is that it's available for free from our website (http://www.seven.com/mobile-app.php). There are no trials, subscriptions, or hidden fees.
AdClear users can rest assured that no one can access their data. If that were to occur, the data accessed would be indecipherable gibberish to the reader. SEVEN does collect anonymous data (such as device, operating system, and battery percentage) in order to improve and maintain AdClear. That data is encrypted and uploaded via a closed network; it can’t be read by a human or accessed by anyone outside. For more details visit our AdClear FAQ (http://www.seven.com/adclear-faq.php) and Privacy Policy (http://www.seven.com/privacy_policy.php).