The internet can sometimes feel like an all-out attack on the senses, with video ads loading into the corners of the screen or the whole thing being taken over by the latest treatment from a company that wants to sell you things.
It doesn’t have to be this way, as ad blockers can quiet the visual cacophony and restore order to your browser. There’s also the added benefit that many of them will also protect you from being tracked by the same advertising companies in their never-ending quest to get money out of your pockets and into theirs.
But which ad blockers should you trust, what do they do, and how much will it cost you? We’ve rounded up our current favorites so you can enjoy a cleaner internet while knowing no one is looking over your shoulder.
If privacy is high on your list of needs, we recommend going a step further and signing up for a VPN as well. These encrypt your internet data and remain the best way to prevent your online activities from being monitored.
Take a look at our guide to the best VPNs to find the one that suits your preferences.
Why You Should Consider Unblocking Ads
On the other hand, advertising exists to support all the free content that everyone expects to find on their favorite websites – including this one – and blocking it deprives the creators of that content of the revenue that allows them to use it. produce in the first place.
Some ad blockers, such as AdBlock and AdBlock Plus, allow non-intrusive ads by default, which provides some balance that might make you feel more comfortable blocking the rest. Others block everything, including trackers that monitor your behavior on the site and follow you when you visit other sites.
From a privacy perspective, you probably don’t want to be tracked, but these are again a source of revenue for the websites that use them. One option is that ad blockers typically allow you to create a “whitelist” where ads are allowed on certain sites so you can support your favorite sites. Making these exceptions means you don’t have to see ads everywhere you go online, but the sites you like to frequent will still be there when you click on that bookmark.
AdBlock
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
AdBlock has been around for 15 years and is a great app for keeping control of your browser. Available on Chrome, Edge, Safari, Firefox, Android and iOS, it is free and has many useful features.
Obviously you get ad blocking and tracking, and there’s also some pretty significant granular control over how this behaves. By default, it allows certain ads, which the company says is due to its participation in the “acceptable ads program,” in which publishers agree to ensure their ads meet certain criteria. Ads deemed non-intrusive are served by default to AdBlock users.
There is a similar feature for YouTube and Twitch, but it appears Google is fighting back and making it difficult for blockers to truly filter all ads on YouTube. AdBlock says it continues to work on this issue so it can provide an ad-free experience on the platform.
If you want additional features, such as removing those annoying cookie warnings on almost all websites, improved pop-up blocking, dark mode, as well as the rather novel approach of replacing spaces one-page advertisements with photos of cats. , dogs and other elements of nature, you can then sign up for a premium account for $2 (around £1.60) per month.
If you want to add a VPN service from AdBlock to the deal, the total comes to $4 (around £3.10) per month, which is very reasonable indeed.
Adblock Plus
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
AdBlock Plus (yes, the name is very similar and slightly confusing) is another veteran app that has been around for years and comes with a mature range of features.
Like AdBlock, this one allows “acceptable ads” by default, but again, you can configure the app to decline them if you want. There are fully customizable filter lists, which give you granular control over what the app blocks and prevent trackers from monitoring your online activities.
For additional features including blocking floating video ads and removing cookie warnings, there is the Premium subscription which will cost you $20 (around £16) per year or $2 (around £1.60) per year. month.
AdBlock Plus supports a wide range of browsers and platforms, available on Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Yandex, iOS, Android and Samsung Internet (Android), making it one of the best ad blockers the most complete advertisements on the market.
Ghost
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Ghostery has been around for a long time and is one of our favorite privacy extensions.
It’s available for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, and Safari, and there’s now a dedicated Ghostery Private browser that you can install on Windows, iOS, Android, and Linux (unfortunately not yet macOS) that’s even more powerful because it’s built on Firefox to integrate a privacy-focused approach to the Internet.
Ghostery is free and blocks all kinds of ads and trackers. You receive messages and indicators of blocked tracking, and you can see a breakdown of how each site attempted to serve ads or feed tracking cookies. If you want to see how the app works to protect you, then Ghostery is a revelation. Speeds are solid, with no noticeable slowdowns, and the interface is simple and easy to use.
Ghostery also offers a private search feature which means you can escape Google or Apple’s algorithms, with their own inherent biases, and try a different way of searching the web.
Although it is free, the app is supported by community contributors who appreciate the work the company does. The community also seems strong, as there is even a merchandise store where you can buy t-shirts, hoodies, and mugs with the logo proudly displayed.
Origin of uBlock
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
For those who really want to dig deep into the settings of something and find out what’s happening online, uBlock Origin will be the way to go. Only available on desktop, although supported on Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera, this one is aimed at the more hardcore.
There’s your standard ad and tracking blocking, and the extension lets you adjust some settings on the web page you’re visiting. This may include blocking large media, pop-ups, cosmetic filtering, remote fonts, and Javascript.
There are also useful tools like Element Zapper that can disable parts of a web page if you don’t want to set up a filter, useful if you’re unlikely to visit the site again. As you would expect, there are filter lists for different sites, you can create bespoke rules on how the extension behaves on certain sites, plus a logger and more advanced code-based features if you know what you are doing.
Not a tool aimed at the user who simply wants to clean up their browser, but a great tool for the more experienced browser. Everything is also free and open source.
Opera Browser
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
Martyn Casserly
If you don’t want to use extensions or just prefer a clean slate, switching to a new browser with advanced security features is another option.
There are several worth considering, with Brave standing out, but in terms of familiarity and speed, Opera is hard to beat.
You have a built-in ad blocker, which can be configured to allow acceptable ads if you want them or none at all. An exceptions list is also available so you can still support your favorite sites. Tracking is also blocked, again with a list of exceptions available.
One thing that gives Opera the edge over many competitors is that it comes with a free VPN to further protect your online activity.
All this, combined with great design, plenty of features and fast performance, makes Opera not only a great choice for security, but also your everyday browser.
It is available on Windows, macOS, Linux, Chromebook, Android and iOS.
There you have it, our pick of the best ad blockers you can get right now. For more web fun, also take a look at our roundup of the best web browsers.
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