Tired of Ads in Chrome? Here’s How to Stop Them for Good in 2025
It feels like you can’t even click on a website anymore without getting hit by a wall of ads. Pop-ups, videos that start playing by themselves banners that cover what you’re trying to read. It’s gotten out of control, you know? You’re just trying to look up a recipe and suddenly your screen is a mess. By 2025 it seems like things have only gotten more intense. But don’t worry. There are definitely ways to fight back and get your clean browsing experience back. It is possible that you can make Google Chrome a lot less annoying.
The whole internet basically runs on advertising for better or worse. That’s how most sites you visit every day make their money and keep the lights on which is fair enough. But the problem is when it gets to be too much. It slows down your browser, it tracks what you do online, and honestly it’s just plain ugly to look at. They use these little things called cookies to follow you around, showing you ads for that one thing you looked at three weeks ago. It’s a bit weird if you think about it for too long.
So you want to know how to stop the ads on Google Chrome. It’s not one single magic button but a combination of a few different things you can do. Some are super easy and some are for people who like to tinker a little more. We’ll go through them, one by one.
The Easiest Fix: Getting a Good Ad Blocker
This is the number one thing you should do. It is considered to be the most effective method by far.
An ad blocker is just a small program, an extension you add to Chrome. It works like a filter.
When you go to a webpage, the ad blocker looks at all the stuff the page is trying to load. It has a big list of known ad servers and tracking scripts.
If it sees something on that list, it just stops it from loading. So the ad never even appears on your screen. It’s pretty simple when you break it down like that.
How to Install an Ad Blocker Extension
Getting one of these is really easy. It takes like two minutes.
Open up your Google Chrome browser.
Go to the Chrome Web Store. You can just google that term.
In the search bar, type in the name of a good ad blocker.
Good ones to look for are uBlock Origin or AdGuard AdBlocker.
Click the “Add to Chrome” button next to the one you pick.
A little box will pop up asking for permission, just say yes.
And that’s it. It will start working right away. You should see a huge difference on most websites immediately.
A Word on Manifest V3 (The 2025 Angle)
You might hear some techy people talking about something called Manifest V3.
Basically, Google changed the rules for how Chrome extensions can work. This has made things a little tricky for some ad blockers.
The change, which is fully in place now in 2025 means some of the old ways of blocking ads don’t work as well.
However, the best ad blocker developers have found new ways to get the job done. uBlock Origin and AdGuard are generally good at keeping up with these changes. So you should still be mostly protected. It’s just something to be aware of.
Tweaking Chrome’s Own Settings to Cut Down on Ads
Chrome actually has some of its own built-in tools to help with the most annoying ads. It’s not a full ad blocker, not by a long shot.
But it can help with the worst offenders. It’s a good second step after you’ve already got a proper ad blocker installed.
You have to go into the settings menu to find these which can be a bit of a maze sometimes. Go to Settings, then “Privacy and security,” and then “Site Settings.”
Blocking Pop-ups and Redirects
This is probably the most useful built-in feature. Nobody likes pop-ups.
In “Site Settings,” scroll down until you see “Pop-ups and redirects.” Go in there.
Make sure the option for “Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects” is selected.
This will stop those awful new windows that open without your permission. It’s a lifesaver for some of the more spammy parts of the web.
Again this won’t stop the normal ads you see on a page. It only stops the pop-up kind. But it’s still a good thing to turn on. It is a setting that for some reason is not always on by default.
Going a Step Further: DNS and Other Nerdy Stuff
Okay so if you’ve done the above and you still want more control there are more advanced options.
This next part is a bit more technical. It’s not for everyone, so if you’re not comfortable messing with network settings, you can probably just skip this.
One method is using a custom DNS service. Think of DNS as the phonebook of the internet. When you type a website address, DNS finds the right server.
Some special DNS services, like NextDNS or AdGuard DNS, have ad blocking built right in.
What this does is it stops your computer from even being able to connect to ad servers. It happens before the data even gets to your browser. This can block ads not just in Chrome, but in other apps on your computer too. The setup is a bit more involved though.
Still Seeing Ads? What Gives?
Sometimes, you do everything right and an ad still slips through. It happens.
Some websites have figured out ways to serve ads that are hard for blockers to detect. They might be disguised as regular content.
Also some ad blockers have an “acceptable ads” program. This means they allow some non-intrusive ads through to help support websites. You can normally turn this option off in the ad blocker’s settings if you want to.
And because of that whole Manifest V3 thing we talked about, the fight between ad companies and ad blockers is always going. It’s a constant back-and-forth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I stop the ads on Google Chrome for free?
The best free way is to install a good ad blocker extension from the Chrome Web Store. uBlock Origin is a popular choice that is completely free and very effective at blocking most ads and trackers.
How do I stop the ads on Google Chrome without an extension?
You can’t stop all ads without an extension, but you can reduce the most annoying ones. Go to Chrome’s Settings > Privacy and security > Site Settings. From there, you can block pop-ups and intrusive ads, which helps clean up the experience a bit.
How do I stop the ads on Google Chrome on my phone?
On Android, you can go into Chrome’s settings and turn on “Lite mode,” which can help. You can also go to Site Settings and block pop-ups. For a better solution, you might consider using a different browser like Brave, which has ad blocking built-in.
How do I stop the ads on Google Chrome that are on YouTube?
YouTube ads are particularly tough. A good ad blocker extension on your desktop computer like AdGuard or uBlock Origin is typically the best at blocking pre-roll video ads and banner ads on the YouTube website.
Key Takeaways
The single most effective thing you can do is install an ad blocker extension. uBlock Origin is a great place to start.
Google Chrome has its own settings to block pop-ups and some bad ads, so make sure those are turned on.
The internet ad situation is always changing, especially with things like Google’s Manifest V3, so your blocker might not be perfect 100% of the time.
For total ad-blocking across your whole device, you can look into custom DNS, but that’s a more advanced move.
Stopping ads makes your browsing faster, safer, and just a lot more pleasant overall.
