Unwanted ads can be a nuisance, disrupting your browsing experience and compromising your device’s performance.
From pop-ups to intrusive notifications, these ads can be both annoying and potentially harmful. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to block these unwanted ads on your Android phone or tablet, ensuring a smoother and safer browsing experience.
Block Pop-ups, Redirects, and Ads on Google Chrome
Google Chrome offers built-in features to block intrusive or misleading ads. By following a few simple steps, you can deactivate these ads and enjoy a cleaner browsing experience.
1. Open Google Chrome on your Android phone.
2. Tap the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner and open Settings.
3. Scroll to Site settings.
4. Scroll down and, under the Content section, open Pop-ups and redirects.
5. Turn on the Pop-ups and redirects toggle from the following menu.
6. Go back to the Site settings page and select Intrusive ads.
7. Turn on the Intrusive ads toggle.
If you want to remove ads during web browsing, consider using third-party web browsers on Android, such as Samsung Internet and Firefox, which offer ad-blocker extensions.
Check Google Chrome Site Notifications
To prevent irrelevant partner content from spamming your device’s notification center, it’s essential to turn off notifications for unnecessary websites.
1. Long press the Google Chrome app icon and tap the i button.
2. Open Notifications.
3. Scroll to All Sites notifications.
4. Check the allowed sites list and the number of alerts each website sends in a week.
5. Turn off notification permission for unknown websites from the list.
Block Ads on the Home Screen
Ads appearing on the home screen can be particularly intrusive. To disable these ads, follow these steps:
1. Long tap the app icon and open the app info menu.
2. Scroll to Display over other apps.
3. Turn off the Allow display over other apps toggle.
Deactivate Wallpaper Services on the Lock Screen
To prevent ads from appearing on your lock screen, follow these steps:
1. Open Settings on your Android phone.
2. Tap on Apps & notifications.
3. Select Advanced to expand the options.
4. Tap Special app access.
5. Choose Display over other apps.
6. Look for any wallpaper services and turn off their permission to display over other apps.
Use Private DNS to Block Ads
Another effective method to block ads on your Android phone is by using Private DNS. This feature allows you to specify a DNS server for all your network requests, effectively blocking ads at the DNS level. Here’s how to set it up:
1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone.
2. Tap Connections.
3. Select More connection settings.
4. Open Private DNS options.
5. Choose the Private DNS provider hostname option, then type your preferred DNS service, such as family.adguard-dns.com.
6. Tap Save to activate the Private DNS and block ads.
By following these steps, you can effectively block unwanted ads on your Android phone, ensuring a smoother and more enjoyable browsing experience.
