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How to Stop Google Ads Working Ways

How to Stop Google Ads: 9 Working Ways

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Written by: Anton Minaev

12/19/2023, 9:19:00 AM

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Today, Google ads are all over the internet, and sometimes they’re a bit too pushy, popping up everywhere you go online. But, good news! Our browsers and phones now have tools to help us block Google ads. In this article, we’re diving into Google ads, exploring their various types, uncovering the tools available on our devices to evade them, and sharing tips for better ad management.

Key points of this article:

Recent changes in Google’s personalized ads for desktop browsers, mobile browsers, and apps, along with strategies to manage them.
How to block specific Google ads on Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.
Tips and techniques to prevent ad tracking on Android and iOS devices.
Understanding the different types of Google advertising for a closer look at your adversaries.

Contents

How to Stop Google Personalized Ads in Chrome
How to Stop Google Ads on Android Phone
How to Turn off Certain Google Ads
How to Block Google Ads on iPhone, iPad
How to Remove Google Ads in Firefox
How to get rid of Google ads using AdLock
Extra Tips to Turn Off Google Ads
Types Of Google Ads

How to Stop Google Personalized Ads in Chrome

Personalized Google ads are like those customized recommendations you get on shopping sites or streaming platforms. They look at what you search for, the sites you visit, and what you click on to show you ads that match your interests. It’s like having a personal stalker picking up ads just for you based on the stuff you do online.

Over the summer of 2023, Google introduced its new Topics API, a feature within the Privacy Sandbox aiming to maintain user privacy while allowing browsers to share interest-related information with third parties. This API is set to replace the long-standing third-party cookies, which have been tracking our movements and purchase behaviors.

The Topics API became a part of Chrome’s July 115 release, gradually reaching all users. If the thought of sharing your interest data doesn’t sit well with you, consider turning it off. Here’s how to fine-tune Google ads settings to opt out of personalized advertising:

Open Chrome => More => Settings;
Find and click Privacy and Security => Ad privacy. (Alternatively, type chrome://settings/adPrivacy into your address field.)

Within this section, you’ll discover three categories:

Ad topics: Sets your interests based on browsing history.
Site-suggested ads: Recommends ads from sites you’ve visited.
Ad measurement: Shares data with sites for advertising effectiveness assessment.

Click on each category. You can dig in to find out what things you like and which websites Google thinks you visit. Or, you can turn off just some of these smaller groups. For example, in Ad topics, you could stop seeing ads about Business and industrial but keep getting ads about Computer and video games.

But if you want to do it faster, just switch off all three main categories as you go through them. That’s it, you’re done.

Keep in mind, though, this won’t completely protect your privacy. Some websites can still use their own sneaky ways, like cookies or pixels, to collect info about you.

Disabling Google pop-up ads in Chrome

Google Chrome automatically stops pop-ups from appearing on your screen. When a pop-up is blocked, you’ll see “Pop-up blocked” in the address bar. However, if you encounter pop-ups or redirects, it can’t hurt to check your settings:

Open Chrome, click More=>Settings
Click Privacy and security=>Site Settings.
Click Pop-ups and redirects
Click Block to send pop-ups and use redirects.

Google Chrome introduced its built-in ad blocker in February 2018. This feature was designed to block intrusive ads that didn’t comply with the Better Ads Standards. This is how you can find it and turn it on:

Open Chrome Settings
Privacy & Security
Site Settings
Pop-ups and redirects
Pick Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects
Go back
Select Additional Content Settings
Intrusive ads
Pick Ads are blocked on sites known to show intrusive or misleading ads.

Learn more thoroughly how to block pop-ups on Chrome using its built-in tool and third-party tools, both free and paid.

Plenty of modern browsers added an ad-blocking option to their setting. Inbuilt Opera pop-up blocker in our opinion is the best so far despite some issues.

How to Stop Google Ads on Android Phone

Google continually improves its advertising technology to simplify the process for advertisers to target you. Previously, to opt out of personalized (interest-based) ads, users could toggle an option with the same name. However, Google now utilizes technology akin to cookies, known as the advertising identifier. This identifier links your ad preferences on apps to a cookie stored on your device, synchronizing ads across your apps and browser.

All the ads you encounter are based on your Advertising ID. You have the option to reset this ID to receive new ads or delete it for less personalized content. Nonetheless, complete opt-out from these ads is not possible, as your shared app information still influences the advertisements you see. Here’s how you can modify your advertising ID on an Android device:

Open Settings.
Tap Privacy => Ads.
Select Reset advertising ID or Delete advertising ID, then confirm your changes.

If you want to stop ads on Android not just in Google, you definitely should go and check our article on this topic.

How to Stop Google Play Ads

The only method to remove ads from Google Play is by using a third-party ad blocker. Through the Ad Center settings, you can only report a problematic ad to prevent reencountering it. To report an advertisement on the Google Play Store, follow these steps:

Click the three-dot icon next to the ad post
Tap Report ad
In the new window, select the reason and tap Submit to proceed.

How to Turn off Certain Google Ads

As we’ve previously mentioned in our article, adjusting your browser settings won’t completely stop all online ads, but it does allow you to disable unwanted ones. Now, let’s explore how to block unwanted ads specifically on Google.

Removing Unwanted Ads

When you block a specific ad, it stops displaying commercials from a particular advertiser. Sometimes, a single advertiser runs ads across multiple websites or services, meaning you might need to block several ads. Follow these steps to remove sponsored ads on Google:

Google services

On Google Search, click the three-dot icon next to the Sponsored tag;
In the My Ad Center window, select an ad you want to block from the carousel;

You won’t see that again, but you may encounter other ads from that advertiser.

The same procedure is relevant for YouTube:

On YouTube, click the three-dot icon next to the Sponsored video;

In the My Ad Center window, click Block Ad;

Click Continue to confirm.

And as of Gmail:

On Gmail, click the three-dot icon next to the Ad email;

In the My Ad Center window, click Block Ad;

Click Continue to confirm.

Google has made it a bit more challenging to opt out of certain advertising, but it’s still possible to do so. Additionally, we’ve created a comprehensive guide on how to turn off ads in Gmail.

Annoyed by bloody massacre movies? Find out how to turn off horror ads on YouTube from our article.

How to Block Google Ads on iPhone, iPad

Safari, like any web browser, defaults to sharing user browsing data with advertisers. Easily prevent advertisers from accessing your data by following these steps:

Open the Settings, find and tap Safari;
Scroll down to the Privacy & Security;
Switch the Prevent Cross-site Tracking toggle to ON.

This is not the way to block Google ads on iPhone, it just prevents advertisers from tracking your web browsing. While you’ll still encounter advertising, it may now become more irrelevant, perhaps amusingly so, as it drains someone’s ad budget.

To enhance your web browsing experience, consider blocking pop-ups. Remember, pop-ups aren’t solely advertisements; they include alerts, notices, and offers, and blocking them might not sit well with certain websites. Yet, who needs such sites in their life? To block pop-ups, follow these steps:

Open Settings=>Safari=>Privacy & Security
Scroll down and toggle on the Block Pop-ups feature.

Last but not least, limit the ad tracking in applications and games.

Go back to Settings;
Find and tap Privacy & Security;

Tap Tracking.

The list here shows which apps want to keep tabs on you. You can decide for each app if you want to let them track you. To stop all apps from requesting tracking permission, toggle off Allow Apps to Request to Track at the top of the screen.

So, we’ve considered the conventional built-in features of blocking and limiting Google ads. While these methods do their work, the best way to get rid of intrusive adverts is to get a reliable ad-blocking tool. And you know what? You’re at the right place because here you can learn how to stop Google ads on iPhone and weigh up all the pros and cons of the best ad blocker for iOS.

How to Remove Google Ads in Firefox

Removing unwanted ads in Firefox is quite similar to the one in Chrome.

First of all, turn off ad personalization, just like on Chrome:

So, if you continue seeing adverts that make your eyes sore, do the following:

Google services

On Google Search, click the three-dot icon next to the Sponsored tag;
In the My Ad Center window, select an ad you want to block from the carousel;
You won’t see that again, but you will encounter other ads from that advertiser.

The same procedure is relevant for YouTube:

On YouTube, click the three-dot icon next to the Sponsored video;
In the My Ad Center window, click Block Ad;
You won’t see that again, but you will encounter other ads from that advertiser.

And this is how to turn off Google ads in Gmail:

On Gmail, click the three-dot icon next to the Ad email;
In the My Ad Center window, click Block Ad;
Click Continue to confirm.

Disabling Google pop-up ads in Firefox

Similar to the Chrome browser, pop-ups are restricted by default in Mozilla. If you keep encountering them, check your settings:

Open Mozilla, click on the application menu, then select Settings.
Choose Privacy & Security.
Under the Permission section, locate Block pop-up windows and and make sure it’s checked.

The above methods will help to stop google pop-up ads, but to remove all types of annoying stuff across the web, you’d better get an adblocker. AdLock is one of the best ad-blocking solutions in today’s market. Let’s consider how to block commercials with the help of AdLock.

Remove ads from Firefox without hassle with AdLock. A piece of cake!

How to get rid of Google ads using AdLock

AdLock elevates ad-blocking and tracking protection, sweeping away ads across browsers, apps, and games. One application does everything, from blocking Google ads to shutting off unwanted adware. We offer three sweet deals:

$2.8/month billed every year;
$3.49 with monthly payments;
$0.81/month billed every five years

We guarantee you money back if you’re unsatisfied with our product. Follow these instructions to install and configure AdLock to get rid of Google ads:

Install AdLock for Windows or macOS.

AdLock will take over the installation process and suggest the perfect installation folder.

Choose your plan and get your license key;
Launch AdLock, click Activation, and paste your 9-digit license key;
Click the Ad-blocking tab, find a gigantic on/off toggle, and switch it to the On position;
Enjoy ad-free internet.

Your job is done from this moment, and AdLock starts its service. It will vehemently eliminate advertising throughout the computer and get automatic updates when needed.

Extra Tips to Turn Off Google Ads

We have many tips on turning off ads on Google if previous solutions are insufficient. In this section of our article, we’ll consider additional ways for you to stop seeing ads.

Use another browser other than Chrome

Other popular browsers like Firefox and Opera offer built-in ad-blocking and privacy features, but they’re somewhat limited. If you have privacy concerns, consider browsers like Tor, Brave, and Epic that prioritize top-tier privacy and ad-free experiences. With large user bases, these browsers ensure reliability, seamless surfing, and additional features like ad-blocking – all for free.

Use a private search engine

Private search engines claim to respect your privacy and not to track you, however, take their promises with a grain of salt. We have an article dedicated to safe, ad-less private search engines. If you lack time for reading, choose one of these three time-proven options:

DuckDuckGo (Default search engine in the Tor Browser, btw);
Kagi (a paid, ad-free, extra private search engine; offers limited search queries for free);
Qwant (deletes searching history when the browser closes).

Use incognito browsing modes

Using private mode (Incognito) doesn’t block Google ads but deletes session data like cookies and history upon window closure. However, it doesn’t prevent tracking by your provider, allowing data collection. This reality often leads to an overestimation of the privacy benefits of incognito mode.

Types Of Google Ads

get rid of google ads adlock

Now that we have cracked down on the ads, let’s find out what exactly we will not miss and get acquainted with Google’s most favorite ad formats. There are five general types of Google advertising; one’s worse than the other regarding annoyance.

1. Search ads

You see such ads only in the Google search results and the search engines affiliated with Google. There are five subtypes of these ads:

Expanded text ads on mobile apps
Ads promoting the installation of mobile apps
Ads that encourage users to take certain actions in the app
Automatic ads based on website content
Ads aimed to increase the number of phone calls

2. Shopping ads

As the name implies, shopping ads are merely publicity for certain goods and products.

3. App ads

This type of advertising is similar to Shopping ads, but it promotes apps and games instead of goods and products. These ads appear across various locations like Play Store search results, suggestions, Google SERP, YouTube feeds, Google Discover, and the broader Google search partner network.

4. Video ads and ads in the video

It’s probably the most irritating and frustrating advertisement you want to remove permanently. Not only does it ruin your binge-watching, but it can unexpectedly pop up at full volume, scaring the hell out of you. There are two major subtypes of such ads:

In-stream ads. You can observe ads at the video’s beginning, middle, or end. Usually, an ad is skippable after you watch it for at least five seconds.
Video discovery. You see promoted videos in the list of interesting videos. Such ads last for six seconds, and you can’t skip them.

Those ads you get not only in the web search but also in the games and the apps. Ads are usually clickable and retarget you to the online store where you supposedly download, install, or buy an advertised app.

5. Google Display Network Ads

As the saying goes, the Google Display Network encompasses over 2 million websites, applications, and videos where Google places ads. This tool is tailored for advertisers to reach the right audience by utilizing Google’s automated targeting options. GDN offers numerous formats for businesses to entice potential customers, although this can add to the frustration of dealing with a variety of flashing content across the internet. Unlike Search Network ads, Display ads can be presented to web users before they initiate searches for advertisers’ offerings.