Now Samsung is following Apple by allowing mobile ad blockers for the first time

Samsung is following Apple by allowing support for ad blockers and content blockers on its default mobile web browser for the first time, The Verge first reported.

On Sunday night, owners of Samsung phones with the Android Lollipop software and newer versions of Android will be able to download ad blockers that work on the Samsung Internet browser.

Mobile ad blocking is thought to reduce web-page loading times and mobile data usage.

Business Insider has contacted Samsung to ask for more details on why the company has released this update now. We'll update this article once we hear back.

Compatible blockers available for Samsung Internet users include Adblock Fast and Crystal, according to The Verge. Adblock Plus also emailed Business Insider with a press release, announcing the launch of its Samsung browser version.

Apple's move last year to allow support in its Safari web browser for ad blocking apps was a pivotal moment in the history of ad blocking - propelling the topic into the mainstream media.

Ad blocking apps shot to the top of the App Store charts when the iOS9 update was released.

While some Wall Street analysts initially feared "in a worst case scenario, this is Apple against the entire mobile publisher and advertiser ecosystem," it appears so far that the Doomsday predictions were somewhat overblown. While adblock apps get lots of downloads, the percentage of people who use them regularly is quite small.

With both the iOS 9 update and the new Samsung ad blocking update, ads are only blocked within the web browsers - but mobile users spend most of their time within apps. It's also a bit of a hacky workaround. You have to download an ad blocker, then go to the device's system preferences to enable to the ad blocker to communicate with the browser, which most people won't bother to do.

However, just like Apple's move before it, Samsung is sending out a strong signal that it wants to give users the option to optimize their browsing experience - even if that comes at the expense of online ads, and ultimately at the expense of online publishers who may not be able to monetize a small proportion of their userbase (a very small proportion - Samsung Internet has a tiny share of the mobile browser market) as a result of the Samsung update.