Microsoft AdBlocker to Work with Microsoft Edge Browser

Microsoft revealed that the next version of Microsoft Edge will include its own ad blocker. One of Microsoft's biggest gambles in Windows 10 is its decision to turn Internet Explorer into a legacy product, primarily for enterprise customers. Its replacement, Microsoft Edge, has been developing slowly since its version 1.0 release with the first release of Windows 10. But judging from a session at today's Build conference in San Francisco, the pace of development is about to pick up.

The feature most power users are awaiting is the availability of JavaScript extensions, similar to those available in Google's Chrome browser. That feature is currently available in Insider preview releases of Windows 10, with one eagerly anticipated extension, AdBlock Plus, already confirmed as an early arrival. If this feature ships, it will be a much-needed replacement for an Internet Explorer feature called Tracking Protection Lists (TPLs), which added privacy protection into the browser and, as a side-effect, neatly blocked many ads.

TPLs were always controversial, at least in part because at the time they debuted Microsoft had recently purchase aQuantive. That move was an unsuccessful attempt to compete with Google in the online advertising business. It turned out to be a disaster and led to a nearly complete writedown of the acquisition and an exit from the business.

Ad-blocking has moved into the mainstream, with Apple baking it into the newest versions of Safari on mobile devices. The former CTO of Mozilla, Brendan Eich, has launched a startup called Brave, whose chief product is an ad-blocking browser. Google, which derives more than 90 percent of its revenue from online advertising, has, not surprisingly, steered clear so far. It remains to be seen how the new ad-blocking features will work. But with new features expected to arrive in Windows 10 preview builds in the coming weeks, we probably will know soon.