Google launches ad-free net experiment

Web search giant Google has unveiled a project that offers web users the option to pay to visit sites rather than see adverts.

Dubbed Contributor, users can pay a monthly fee of between $1 to $3 for ad-free sites. When those who have paid their subscriptions visit a participating site they will see pixelated patterns replacing the adverts.

So far, a handful of websites have been signed up, including ScienceDaily and Urban Dictionary, to test the system.

Access to the service is currently by invitation only and interested websites can sign up to be on the waiting list.

A portion of the money goes to Google and a portion to the website and users log into the service via their Google account – which will trigger the ad-free version of sites.

Howard Kingston, co-founder of adludio, a firm which replaces ads with interactive games, thinks current online advertising needs a rebrand.

A service called Readability tried something similar to Contributor but shut down in 2012.

Source: BBC