You ever just stare at your screen and wonder when the internet became one giant billboard?
It feels like you can’t click anything without a pop-up or a video ad starting.
Especially Google ads. They’re like that one person at a party who follows you from room to room.
They know what you searched for last week. They remember that one website you visited months ago.
It’s 2025 and the tracking is getting a little out of hand.
The good news is you can fight back. You don’t have to just accept a web experience plastered with ads.
It’s actually possible to block most ads by Google, you just have to know where to look.
Why Are Google Ads Basically Everywhere?
So, what’s the deal? Why are these ads so persistent?
It’s pretty simple really. Google runs a massive advertising network.
There are ads on its search results page. That’s the most obvious one.
Then there’s the Google Display Network. These are the picture and banner ads you see on blogs, news sites, and all sorts of random websites.
And of course, there’s YouTube. The ads before, during, and after videos. Sometimes two of them.
These systems are all connected. That’s why when you search for new shoes, you suddenly see shoe ads on YouTube and your favorite weather website. It is the tracking that makes this happen.
Your Go-To Move: Browser Ad Blockers
The first and easiest thing you can do is get a browser extension.
These are little add-ons for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari that do the heavy lifting for you.
They work by keeping updated lists of ad-serving domains and just telling your browser not to load anything from them. Simple as that.
Popular Choices for Your Browser
You’ve got a lot of options here. Some are better than others, generally speaking.
uBlock Origin: This is considered to be the top choice for a lot of people. It’s very light on your computer’s resources. It doesn’t use much memory and it’s really good at blocking all sorts of stuff, not just ads.
AdGuard AdBlocker: Another solid one. It has a bunch of features and does a good job of blocking video ads and pop-ups. It’s a pretty strong contender.
These things are normally free and you can install them from your browser’s extension store in like two clicks.
The Problem with Just Using Browser Blockers
Okay so browser blockers are great. But they have limits.
A blocker on your Chrome browser on your laptop does nothing for the apps on your phone.
It also won’t stop ads on your Smart TV or your game console.
Plus, sites like YouTube are always in a battle with these blockers. One day your blocker works perfectly on YouTube, the next day it might not. It’s a constant back-and-forth.
The Next Level: Blocking Ads on Your Whole Network
If you want to get more serious you can block ads for every single device on your Wi-Fi.
This is done with something called DNS filtering.
Basically, you change a setting on your internet router to send all of its traffic through a service that weeds out the ad servers before they even get to your phone or computer.
This method stops ads inside many apps, not just in your web browser. Which is a huge plus.
How Do You Do This Network Thing?
You have two main paths for this.
One is for people who like to tinker. You can get a small computer a Raspberry Pi and install software called Pi-hole. This gives you total control over what gets blocked on your network. It’s a fun project if you’re into that sort of thing.
The other path is way easier. You can use a service like NextDNS or AdGuard DNS.
You just sign up for their service, and they give you a special address to put into your router’s settings. It takes maybe ten minutes to set up and you’re done. Some of these have free plans that are good enough for most people.
This approach is considered to be a much more complete solution for a whole house.
Telling Google to Back Off (A Little)
Here’s a step a lot of people miss. You can go directly to Google and adjust some settings.
Google has a dashboard called “My Ad Center.” You have to be logged into your Google account to find it.
In there, you’ll find an option for “Personalized ads.” You can just turn it right off.
Now what does this do? It doesn’t stop Google from showing you ads. Sorry.
But it does stop them from using your personal information, your search history, and your YouTube history to target those ads directly at you. The ads you see will be more random and less… creepy.
It’s a good privacy move, even if it doesn’t make the ads go away completely. It reduces what they know.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. How do I block ads by Google specifically on YouTube?
YouTube is tough. The best bet is a good browser blocker like uBlock Origin on a desktop browser like Firefox or Chrome. On mobile, some browsers block ads, or using a network-level blocker like NextDNS can help, but YouTube is always changing things to get around blockers.
2. Is it against the law to use an ad blocker?
Nope, not at all. Using an ad blocker is perfectly legal. Some websites might ask you to turn it off to see their content, but you aren’t breaking any laws by using one.
3. Will blocking Google ads make some websites not work right?
Sometimes, yes. Very rarely a website might rely on a script that gets blocked along with the ads, which can break a button or a feature. Good ad blockers have an easy way to temporarily disable them for a specific site if you run into problems.
4. What’s the absolute simplest way to block most ads?
Install uBlock Origin on your web browser (like Chrome or Firefox). It takes about 30 seconds and will immediately get rid of a huge percentage of the ads you see online.
5. Do I need to pay money for a good ad blocker?
You shouldn’t have to. The best ad blockers, like uBlock Origin, are free and open-source. Be careful of paying for blockers, as some of them aren’t as effective as the free options.
Key Takeaways
Google ads are everywhere because their search, display, and YouTube networks are all connected and track your activity.
The easiest first step is to install a free browser extension like uBlock Origin. This solves the problem for that one browser.
For a more complete fix, use a network-level DNS blocker like NextDNS. This covers all devices on your Wi-Fi, including phones and smart TVs.
Don’t forget to go into your Google “My Ad Center” and turn off ad personalization to limit how much Google uses your data to target you.
Blocking ads is a constant game of cat and mouse, especially with services like YouTube, so what works today might need a tweak tomorrow.
