A confluence of annoying ads and accessible software has resulted in a mobile ad-blocking revolution. Worldwide, more than one in five (22%) of smartphone owners are actively using mobile ad-blocking browsers, per the latest findings from PageFair.

Like clockwork, just when you think Twitter's getting its act together is when news surfaces to show the depths of its dysfunction. Consider the events of the past few days: Earlier in the week, CEO Jack Dorsey told BBC News: "We're making progress." At about the same time, Twitter announced plans to simplify tweets by no longer counting photos and links in its 140-character limit. The social giant seemed to be on a roll! Now, of course, comes news that Twitter is losing its head of media and commerce, Nathan Hubbard, along with its head of business development, Jana Messerschmidt.

WhatsApp, one of Facebook's two over-the-top (OTT) messaging apps, is the most popular messaging app in the world, according to new data from digital market intelligence firm SimilarWeb.

Apple has never been big on open systems. A product of Steve Jobs and his view that elegant design requires single-minded control, the company has always seen impenetrability as a virtue. That's why a report that Apple will open Siri to developers is such huge news.

Don't call it an admission of guilt, but -- following an internal investigation -- Facebook is now less confident that Trending Topics were never influenced by bias against conservative media. "Our investigation could not fully exclude the possibility of isolated improper actions or unintentional bias in the implementation of our guidelines or policies," Colin Stretch, Facebook general counsel, writes in a letter to John Thune, chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee.

Hard as it may be for aging consumers to understand, mobile tech has some extremely practical applications. Take couponing among Millennials: A full 43% said they "clip mobile coupons" and "browse weekly ads" on their smartphones before grocery shopping, according to new research from Retale.

From an Amazon Echo-killer to a VR headset, Google's I/O conference was oozing with big news this week. At least in the short term, however, some of the more modest developments may be of greater interest to mobile developers. Take Google's new Awareness API, which was designed to help developers build apps that intelligently respond to users' real-world situations.

Earlier this week, publishers like LittleThings, a feel-good lifestyle site oriented around shareability, and Mic, a millennial news site, reported that about 85% of their 150 million monthly video views that occur on Facebook play without sound (both sites released the same numbers). Other sites say that anywhere between 50%-85% of their views are soundless.

Between our harried political climate and the other stresses of modern life, it's no surprise that so many American want to get away. It's also not surprising that they're increasingly using travels apps to do so. In fact, travel apps saw the highest increase in time spent -- increasing 40%, from one hour and 28 minutes per person to two hours and three minutes -- from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2015, according to Nielsen.

How absurd it is that the industry should gasp every time Twitter considers loosening the character limit within tweets? At any rate, the company is reportedly preparing to stop counting photos and links within its 140-character limit. Sources tell Bloomberg that the change could come within the next two weeks.