Opera web browser introduces built-in ad-blocker

Sign up to our free weekly IndyTech newsletter delivered straight to your inbox Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter Sign up to our free IndyTech newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Similar to popular browser extensions like AdBlock Plus, the new Opera feature will prevent any adverts appearing on webpages, even getting rid of the ads which run before YouTube videos. However, since the feature is a native application and not an add-on, Opera claims it's on average 45 per cent faster than Google Chrome with the AdBlock Plus extension. Writing on the browser's website, senior vice-president of engineering and new products Krystian Kolondra said: "Today, bloated online ads use more download bandwidth than ever, causing webpages to load more slowly. Opera is a fairly small browser, used by around two per cent of the world's internet users, compared to Google Chrome's 59 per cent.