Chrome 71: Google’s next browser update to crack down on websites with ‘abusive ads’

Hopefully, we will no longer see fake “system errors” and “your phone is outdated and download this update” messages on Chrome browser.

Google gets aggressive with abusive ads in its new Chrome update. (Shutterstock)

Google brought tons of security and privacy features with its last Chrome 70 update. Google has also been working to fix the problem of rampant "abusive ads" which it describes as advertisements that contain fake messages, unexpected click areas, and auto direct to pages without users' action. The next browser update, version 71, will continue to purge websites that feature such pesky advertisements.

Google on Wednesday announced that it will simply block ads with "persistent abusive experiences" on websites with its new Chrome 71 update, which is scheduled to roll out in December this year. Chrome 71 will come with a filter which will remove all abusive ads from websites. This filter will be optional for users to turn it on or off from their Settings menu on Chrome.

Website owners can check Google's Abusive Experiences Report to see if their sites have any such ads. Site owners can report such ads to either be corrected or removed. Google will also give these site owners a period of 30 days to fix these flawed ads before they are removed.

Google started getting stricter with unwanted ads with Chrome 68 earlier this year. Google launched its built-in ad blocker for Chrome. Google's built-in ad blocker detects and blocks ads with abusive behaviour. On desktop, Google blocks ads which appear as pop-up boxes, auto-play video ads and ads with countdown. Google blocks the same ads on mobile including those with fullscreen scroll, and animated ads.

Google had first announced new features on Chrome 68 to contain 'abusive ads'. Chrome 68 came with features like pop-up blockers on Chrome which prevents websites from opening new windows or tabs. Pop-ups which appear as videos with fake play buttons often contain malicious content which unaware users click on.

Google also fixed the problem of unwanted pages opening up in a main window altogether. Chrome 68 is optimised to detect such activities and prevent unwanted pages from opening up separately.