In-view ad refresh survey
Ad refresh — reloading new ad content in a unit already on the page — was prohibited under the Standard. This study asked whether any implementation of it is acceptable to ad-blocking users, testing sizes, placements and refresh intervals against a static Acceptable Ads control.
Download the in-view ad refresh report (PDF)The research question
A single refreshing ad was added to two mock web experiences: a long scrollable article and a non-scrollable online game. Ad format size (300 × 250, 160 × 600, 728 × 90), placement (side rail or top banner) and time-based refresh trigger (30, 60 or 90 seconds) were varied, and each condition compared with the same page showing static ads compliant with the Standard.
Method and sample
7,427 ad-blocking participants recruited in the US, Germany and France; 7,134 retained after filtering. Desktop only. Participants rated the refreshing ad and the overall ad experience for disruptiveness, annoyance, intrusiveness and enjoyment.
Main findings
- Refresh placed beside the primary content was rated acceptable: a 300 × 250 or 160 × 600 side-rail ad refreshing every 30 seconds or longer on a scrollable article.
- On a non-scrollable page, a 300 × 250 side-rail refresh at 30 or 60 seconds and a 160 × 600 at 60 seconds or longer were acceptable — but only when no other ad was in the viewport.
- Adding a second ad to the viewport pushed ratings to or over the disruptiveness threshold in this study; the report interprets this as an ad-clutter effect, distinct from an ad-refresh effect alone.
- Top-banner refresh was borderline throughout and the report cautions against allowing it. 70% of participants said some refresh interval would not be annoying; 18% said no refresh would bother them at any rate.
- In February 2023, the Committee announced that in-view ad refresh was permitted under specified conditions. See §10 of the Standard for the requirements.
Participant ratings of mock experiences are not observed browsing behaviour. Clearing the Standard’s 35% acceptability threshold made a format eligible for the Committee’s consideration; it was not itself a Committee decision. The Committee separately adopted a narrower rule afterward, as described above.
Limitations and context
- Only one refreshing unit per page was tested; multiple refreshing ads, in-content refresh and user- or event-triggered refresh were not.
- Only three markets (US, Germany, France) and desktop only.
- The study environment remains artificial; real browsing may involve more ads and cumulative effects.
- Some subgroups (German participants, participants with higher education) rated the 30-second variants above the threshold, so the report cautions on those.