5 AdBlock Features You Might Not Know About
While most of our users know that the AdBlock extension blocks pop-ups and other intrusive ads, there are a few other things we can do, too. That’s why we’ve decided to highlight some of the features available to all AdBlock users. It’s time to get the most out of your ad blocking experience and explore the extension!
1. See Your Ad Blocking Stats
Did you know you can see how many ads and trackers AdBlock has blocked for you over time? All you have to do is visit the Stats page in the extension and opt into local stats collection. Here, you’re able to see how many ads and trackers AdBlock has removed over a set time period (today, this week, this month, this year, and all time.) AdBlock Premium users can also see how many ads have been replaced via Image Swap. And if you’re interested in how many of these ads and trackers come from a specific site, you can also see the data filtered by website.
To view your AdBlock Stats, all you have to do is:
- Open the AdBlock menu by clicking on the red stop sign icon in the upper right corner of your browser’s toolbar.
- Click on the gear icon.
- Click on Stats from the left sidebar.
Please note that the Stats feature is currently only available in the AdBlock desktop extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
2. Prevent Unwanted Tracking
If you’ve ever researched a purchase only to later see ads for that very thing you were researching, then you’ve encountered ad trackers. In fact, it’s almost impossible not to run into them as you browse the web. Advertisers use ad trackers to collect information about your browsing habits, purchase history, and personal interests so they can use that information to target you with ads for products you’re most likely to buy.
One way to avoid ad trackers is to block them with AdBlock. AdBlock can disable third-party tracking to make it more difficult for advertisers to track your behavior as you browse. With AdBlock, you can subscribe to the EasyPrivacy filter list. Easy Privacy is an optional filter list that blocks most trackers on the web. (Please note that using this filter list may cause issues on sites that rely on third-party trackers, like many banking sites do. You can typically work around that by adding sites to your allowlist, though this will unblock ads on those sites, too.) For instructions on how to subscribe to EasyPrivacy, click here.
3. Customize As You Browse
The AdBlock Hiding Wizard is a feature that allows you to take even more control over your internet experience. That’s because you can use this feature to manually choose what it is that you’d like to hide on a web page. It doesn’t even have to be an ad! For instance, you could be an X (Twitter) user but couldn’t care less about “Who to follow.” Or maybe your news site gives page space to recommend you more news articles, and you’re not interested. Once you use the AdBlock Hiding Wizard, AdBlock will remember what you’ve hidden. That means you can block an item once, and every time you visit that page, it will stay blocked.
4. Use Your Own Ad Blocking Rules
This feature is for those internet users that have created their own filter lists. Filter lists are the rules that AdBlock follows in order to decide what to show and hide on web pages as you browse. Much like a coffee filter, filter lists keep ads and other web page parts from loading in your browser the way a coffee filter keeps grounds out of the liquid. For those folks who have their own filters, they can easily upload them to AdBlock. Simply follow the instructions here and check out how to write filters if you’re interested in learning more.
5. Support Content Creators You Love
At AdBlock, we believe that a healthy internet ecosystem is made up of a balance between what users, publishers, and advertisers want. We understand that some content creators wouldn’t exist without the revenue they generate from ads. That’s why we give our users the ability to add websites to their allowlist. When you add a site to your allowlist, you tell the AdBlock extension that it’s OK to show ads on a specific page or site while we continue to block ads everywhere else. This puts you in control of supporting the content creators you choose, rather than seeing intrusive advertising on every website you visit.
With the AdBlock extension, you can do so much more than simply block annoying ads. In fact, we’ve covered 5 different ways you can get the most out of the extension once it’s installed. If you don’t currently use AdBlock, you can install us by visiting getadblock.com from the browser of your choice.
Need help? Shoot us an email at help@getadblock.com and we’ll assist you with any questions you have.
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