Putting ad-blocking software on iPhone boosts Apple and hurts its rivals

Paris

APPLE Inc's move to make ad-blocking software available on the iPhone is a double-barrelled effort to boost the health of the so-called app economy, while undermining arch rival Google Inc, which dominates the US$120 billion online advertising market.

The new version of the iPhone operating system, to be released on Wednesday, will for the first time allow customers to download third-party software that strips out marketing messages such as banner and video ads when people surf the web via the Safari browser.