Facing the user, Internet It is the technological mass medium with the worst possible advertising model. It makes billions every year for companies like Google, Goal, Manzana and others, but it does so at the cost of degrading the user experience to extremes that, if they had been proposed in the 20th century, would have seemed crazy. Browsing web pages is like watching a movie in the cinema or on the television and the image is constantly filled with intrusive banners, without a single second of visual and mental rest. Or like taking a walk through the Prado Museum and seeing each painting appear covered, for the most part, with stickers with different advertisements. Or like listening to music and hearing one advertisement superimposed over another for each song, without stopping for a single moment. A desperation that most consumers are accustomed to after several decades of use..
The only alternative that users have is to use ad blockersas well as extensions –Ublock, Adblocketc.- from the browser of your choice or by choosing one that integrates this functionality –Brave-. From time to time, the tech giants make a timid attempt to reduce advertising a little, which is of little use because in the end they are risking millions by limiting ads. And the latest example in this regard has been brought by Apple with a new feature for its browser. Safari: ‘Hide distractions‘.
It is the typical idea that On paper it sounds promising but its execution makes it useless. It has appeared in the latest beta versions of operating systems for Mac computers, iPhones and iPads and yes, it allows you to get rid of things like ads, pop-ups or cookie notices at will, but only after having seen them, which makes their usefulness more than doubtful..
Its operation is simple. You enter a web page with the Safari browser that loads a bunch of annoying banners. And yes, allows you to delete them, but after the fact. Once the page has loaded, you must click on the browser options and activate the option Hide distractions. You go back to the page and tap on the item you want to delete and the button appears Disguise on it. You click on it and, finally, the ad disappears with a typical cute animation from Apple that simulates how it breaks down into particles. Four taps to get rid of an ad, no more, no less. Something that can usually be done with just one tap on the X. Also, if you reload the page, the ads are back there and you have to repeat the process again. A true ode to usability from the company that prides itself on taking care of it the most.
Hiding distractions not only allows you to remove ads but also cookie warnings. But when the process is so long and cumbersome and you have to go through them one by one, What practical sense does it have? It would be another thing if the function was activated by default and removed all the visual junk without the user having to do anything, as is the case with ad blockers, but that would be shooting itself in the foot for the technology companies whose multi-million dollar revenues depend largely on it.