Number of Ad Block Users Worldwide (2024)
Ad block tools are becoming increasingly commonplace, with the number of users continuing to increase year-over-year.
Below, we’ll take a look at the latest data surrounding the growing number of users:
Contents
- Top Ad Block User Stats (Editor’s Choice)
- How Many People Use Ad Blockers?
- Ad Blockers By Region
- Ad Block Users Demographics
- Reasons For Using Ad Blockers
Top Ad Block User Stats (Editor’s Choice)
- There are approximately 912 million ad block users
- Mobile ad blocking makes up around 55% of all ad blocking
- Approximately 2 in 5 internet users use ad blockers
- Indonesia has the highest proportion of internet users using ad blocks (40.6%)
- The main reason for using ad blocks is the number of adverts encountered
How Many People Use Ad Blockers?
Recent data shows that almost 1 billion people worldwide use ad blockers.
Mobile ad block users make up around 54.4% (496 million) while desktop ad block users account for 45.6% (416 million).
Since 2012 (44 million users), the number of ad block users has increased by nearly 21x.
Here’s a breakdown of ad block users over time split by desktop and mobile:
| Quarter, Year | Number of Ad Block Users | Desktop Ad Block Users | Mobile Ad Block Users |
| Q1 2012 | 44 million | 44 million | - |
| Q1 2014 | 240 million | 142 million | 99 million |
| Q1 2016 | 558 million | 276 million | 282 million |
| Q1 2018 | 691 million | 295 million | 396 million |
| Q1 2020 | 764 million | 236 million | 527 million |
| Q4 2021 | 820 million | 290 million | 530 million |
| Q2 2022 | 716 million | 320 million | 395 million |
| Q4 2022 | 850 million | 436 million | 414 million |
| Q2 2023 | 912 million | 416 million | 496 million |
Despite an overall increase in the number of people with ad blockers, the proportion of internet users using ad block tools has dipped since 2021.
DataReportal found that approximately 1 in 3 (32.5%) internet users use ad blockers. That figure has fallen 4.5% from Q3 2021’s 37%, although a change in methodology may be a contributing factor.
Here’s a closer look at how the proportion of internet users using ad blockers has changed over time:
| Quarter, Year | Proportion of Internet Users Using Ad Blockers | Change Over Previous Quarter |
| Q3 2021 | 37% | - |
| Q4 2021 | 36.2% | -2.2% |
| Q1 2022 | 36.4% | +0.6% |
| Q2 2022 | 35.9% | -1.4% |
| Q3 2022 | 35.7% | -0.6% |
| Q4 2022* | 32.6% | N/A |
| Q1 2023* | 32.8% | +0.6% |
| Q2 2023* | 32.8% | - |
| Q3 2023* | 32.5% | -0.9% |
Sources: Korea Copyright Commission, Korea Copyright Commission (2), Korea Copyright Commission (3), Data Reportal
Ad Blockers by Region
The proportion of internet users using ad block tools varies greatly by region.
According to Data Reportal, Indonesia has the highest proportion with around 2 in 5 (40.6%) of their internet users using ad blockers.
At the other end of the spectrum, just 16.9% of Japan’s internet users use ad blockers.
Nonetheless, each of the top three countries by the proportion of internet users using ad blockers is situated in Asia (Indonesia, China, and Vietnam).
Here’s a breakdown of the data in full:
| Country | Region | Proportion of Internet Users Using Ad Block Tools | |
| Q3 2023 | Q3 2022 | ||
| Indonesia | Asia | 40.6% | 41.8% |
| China | Asia | 38.5% | 43.2% |
| Vietnam | Asia | 38.1% | 41.3% |
| Croatia | Europe | 37.2% | - |
| Greece | Europe | 37% | 37.7% |
| Taiwan | Asia | 36.8% | 38% |
| South Africa | Africa | 36.3% | 33.1% |
| Israel | Asia | 36.1% | 36.3% |
| Portugal | Europe | 36% | 36.8% |
| Hungary | Europe | 35.7% | - |
| Hong Kong | Asia | 35.3% | 34% |
| Poland | Europe | 34.8% | 36.2% |
| Sweden | Europe | 34.4% | 33.3% |
| Canada | North America | 33.6% | 35.8% |
| Spain | Europe | 33.6% | 36% |
| Singapore | Asia | 33.4% | 30.9% |
| Germany | Europe | 33.1% | 35.2% |
| Malaysia | Asia | 33.1% | 36% |
| Turkey | Europe/Asia | 32.8% | 32.5% |
| Global | - | 32.5% | 35.7% |
| Brazil | South America | 32.5% | 32.2% |
| Austria | Europe | 32.4% | 36.1% |
| Norway | Europe | 32.4% | 33% |
| Bulgaria | Europe | 32.3% | - |
| Egypt | Africa | 31.8% | 36.5% |
| France | Europe | 31.8% | 34.3% |
| USA | North America | 31.8% | 33.6% |
| Australia | Oceania | 31.5% | 34.2% |
| New Zealand | Oceania | 31% | 34.5% |
| Netherlands | Europe | 30.9% | 33.2% |
| Switzerland | Europe | 30.6% | 35.3% |
| Russia | Europe/Asia | 30.4% | 34.1% |
| Belgium | Europe | 30% | 30.6% |
| India | Asia | 30% | 38.7% |
| Romania | Europe | 29.3% | 29.7% |
| Kenya | Africa | 29% | 26.9% |
| Saudi Arabia | Asia | 28.1% | 32.9% |
| UK | Europe | 28.1% | 28.9% |
| Czechia | Europe | 28% | 28.4% |
| Italy | Europe | 27.9% | 28.9% |
| Ireland | Europe | 27.8% | 28.7% |
| Thailand | Asia | 27.4% | 29.5% |
| UAE | Asia | 27.1% | 34.5% |
| Denmark | Europe | 26.6% | 28.4% |
| Argentina | South America | 26.5% | 25.5% |
| Nigeria | Africa | 26% | 17% |
| Philippines | Asia | 25% | 29.2% |
| Colombia | South America | 24.7% | 24.9% |
| Chile | South America | 24% | 25.9% |
| Ghana | Africa | 24% | 11.7% |
| Mexico | North America | 22% | 24.3% |
| South Korea | Asia | 20.7% | 20.4% |
| Morocco | Africa | 19.3% | 34.9% |
| Japan | Asia | 16.9% | 15.8% |
And here’s a look at US ad blocking penetration since 2021:
| Year | US Ad Blocking Penetration |
| 2021 | 34.2% |
| 2022 | 33.6% |
| 2023 | 31.8% |
Source: Data Reportal
Ad Block Users Demographics
Split by gender, males are more likely to use ad block tools than females.
25 to 34-year-old males are the most likely subsection to use ad block tools (36.9%).
By contrast, 45 to 54-year-olds are the least likely (25.1%).
Here’s the proportion of internet users using ad block tools split by gender and age:
| Age Bracket | Proportion of Internet Users Using Ad Block Tools | |
| Female | Male | |
| 16 to 24-year-olds | 30% | 36.1% |
| 25 to 34-year-olds | 31.8% | 36.9% |
| 35 to 44-year-olds | 29.6% | 36.5% |
| 45 to 54-year-olds | 25.1% | 33.6% |
| 55 to 64-year-olds | 25.4% | 31.8% |
Source: Data Reportal
Reasons for Using Ad Blockers
The most common reason (62.9%) for using ad blockers is to avoid the amount of ads.
More than half of ad block users do so because ads get in the way (54.4%).
Here is the list of reasons for using as blockers in full:
| Reasons for Using Ad Blockers | Proportion of Internet Users Who Agree |
| There are too many ads | 62.9% |
| Ads get in the way | 54.4% |
| To protect my privacy | 40.4% |
| Ads aren’t relevant to me | 39.7% |
| To stop inappropriate content from being shown | 37.5% |
| To improve device performance | 31.3% |
| To stop companies collecting data around me | 25.6% |
Approximately 2 in 5 (40%) people are annoyed by advertising on the internet.
However, 31% of people don’t mind advertising if they get free content as a result.
Here’s a full list of attitudes towards online advertising:
| Attitude Towards Online Advertising | Proportion of Who Agree |
| I am often annoyed by advertising on the internet | 40% |
| It annoys me when I receive online ads based on my search history | 35% |
| I don’t mind advertising if I get free content in return | 31% |
| I use ad blockers when browsing the internet | 27% |
| I have bought products because celebrities or influencers advertised them | 21% |
| I am excited about using the metaverse (immersive virtual world) | 19% |
| I don’t mind when companies use my personal data for advertising | 14% |
| I often have difficulty distinguishing advertising from content | 12% |
| None of the above | 12% |
Sources: Data Reportal, Statista
Conclusion
The number of internet users using ad blockers has seen a sharp rise over the last decade and shows little sign of slowing down.
For more related content, take a look at 6 Top Advertising Trends to Watch and Future of Advertising.
