Shocking! AdBlock Plus is now selling ads

Adblock Plus (ABP), the popular web browser extension that lets users block ads on web sites, on Tuesday made the surprising announcement that it is joining with ComboTag, an Israeli ad-tech startup, to broker the sale of certain advertisements that target Adblock Plus users.

With the launch of an ad exchange called the "Acceptable Ads Platform", internet users don't get bugged with things like pop-ups, animation, or covering over the web page content. It also gives publishers a chance to see some of the ad revenue they otherwise would not have seen, goes the sales pitch.

The German firm in a blog post says its "launching the beta version of a fully functional ad-tech platform that will make whitelisting faster and easier". 

 "The Acceptable Ads Platform helps publishers who want to show an alternative, nonintrusive ad experience to users with ad blockers by providing them with a tool that lets them implement Acceptable Ads themselves," Till Faida, co-founder of Adblock Plus said in a release.

By forming an ad-brokering service with ComboTag, Adblock is streamlining the whitelisting process.

Launched in September 2015, ComboTag is a "supply side" service that lets web publishers sell space to advertisers. It had been more or less following the acceptable ad guidelines related to the style and position of ads.

Google are now working on plans to end its business relationship with ComboTag.