Bots watch ads, humans block them

35,000

That’s how many times iOS adblocker Purify has been downloaded since it launched on September 16, according to Apptopia. It’s one of many new ad blockers entering the arena since Apple enabled the technology, the Wall Street Journal reports. At $3.99 a pop, Purify has earned over $150,000 in revenue, but that’s not the only way to make money by blocking ads. Advertisers can get past the filter with “acceptable” non-intrusive ads — and a fee. 

1/4

Speaking of ads: that’s the portion of online video ads that aren’t viewed by humans, but bots, according to a study from the Association of National Advertisers. That’s a lot of money going toward ads no one sees; a separate study found that fake impressions will cost advertisers around $6.3 billion this year. How does that happen? A big new Bloomberg cover story examines an industry of middlemen who sell fake — or at the very least, dubious — traffic sites they can sell ads against. 

45

That’s the portion of Catalans who support independence from Spain, according to some recent surveys. That should be sufficient to give the region’s two main separatist parties an overall majority in the regional parliament after this weekend’s elections. This is all to say that the election Sunday is much more important than it might appear, and it could start a process that leads to Catalonia’s independence.