What is the purpose of a popup blocker in a web browser?

A popup blocker is designed primarily to improve the user experience while browsing the web by preventing unwanted popup windows from disrupting the session. These popups often contain advertisements or other content that can be distracting or annoying, thus keeping extra windows off the screen allows for a cleaner and more focused browsing experience.

This functionality is particularly useful when navigating sites that might exploit open windows for advertising purposes, as users can maintain better control over their viewing environment.

While aspects of web security may be indirectly enhanced by blocking malicious popups, that is not the primary intent of a popup blocker. Similarly, managing browser extensions and increasing download speed fall outside the scope of what a popup blocker does, which further emphasizes the specific role of preventing unwanted popups to streamline and improve the web browsing experience.