Enable Opera’s Ad Blocker

Just like ad blocking extensions, it also comes with a whitelist option to whitelist websites you like and want to support. Click on the “Manage exceptions” button, and you will be able to easily add your favorite websites to the whitelist. Be default, Opera puts Baidu, Google, Yandex and Facebook in the whitelist for demonstration purposes. If you don’t want to see ads on these platforms as well, then I recommend you remove them from the whitelist while enabling the ad blocker.

Using Opera’s Ad Blocker

Once enabled you will see a “Shield” icon in the address bar with the total number of ads blocked on the web page shown on the left side. I have compared Adblock Plus with Opera’s ad blocker to see how many ads they are blocking on web pages. After many tests, I found Opera’s ad blocker to be blocking at least three to six more ads compared to Adblock Plus. I am not sure what “Extra” ads Opera is blocking, but the greater number seems nice.

If you click on the shield icon, you will see a button to disable ads on a website (whitelist it) and statistics of how many ads were blocked in the last seven days. At the end you will see an option of “See how fast websites load.” This is a really cool feature that lets you compare the speed of a web page load time with and without ads.

Using the Benchmark Tool

When you click on the “Speed test: with and without ads” button, a new tab will immediately open where your currently opened page will reload with and without ads. Once the benchmark finishes, you will be shown how fast the webpage loaded in a percentage. This test is affected by numerous variables, so it is best to run the test multiple times (at least ten times) before you check an average.

I have tested this on MakeTechEasier and found it to load the page 7% faster without ads. It isn’t much, but this is not ad blocker’s fault as maketecheasier hosts less ads and very light ones, so it doesn’t makes much difference without them. However, I tested it on some other popular websites and their average is below (your milage may vary):

• • TechCrunch: 22% Faster

  • Facebook:19% Faster

  • PC World: 45% Faster

  • CNET: 13% Faster

  • Parents: 38% Faster

Conclusion

For Opera users, the addition of an ad blocker is definitely good news. I can see that it doesn’t offers much customization options unlike some other ad blocker extensions, but if your only intention is to block all the ads and get some speed boost in return, then it’s perfect. I think this move seems more like a protest against intrusive ads, as Opera wants ads to be light, safe and the least invasive.

What do you think about this new move by Opera? Are you going to try out Opera’s new ad blocker? Let us know in the comments.