You’re tired of it, right? It feels like every single click, every page load, it just brings another pop-up or a video that starts playing automatically. We’re in 2025, and somehow, the ads are more annoying than ever. You just want to read an article or watch a video about fixing a leaky faucet, but first, you have to sit through a commercial for a car you’ll never buy. It’s a whole thing.

The good news is you can actually do something about it. It’s possible, really possible, to block Google ads and get a bit of your sanity back. This isn’t some super-secret hacker stuff either. It’s just about knowing which buttons to press and what little tools to use. So lets get into how you can stop seeing all that junk.

Why Are Google Ads Everywhere in 2025 Anyway?

It sort of feels like they’ve multiplied. And you’re not wrong. The system that shows you ads has gotten smarter, maybe a little too smart for its own good. It is a system that follows you around the internet.

You look at a pair of shoes one time, and suddenly every website you visit has those same shoes staring back at you. That’s the whole tracking cookie deal. They build a little profile of you, what you like, what you click on.

Then they sell that ad space to companies who want to reach people exactly like you. That is why the ads feel so specific sometimes, and honestly a bit creepy. It’s a massive business and it’s the reason so much of the web is “free.”

The Simple Ways to Block Google Ads on Your Computer

Let’s start with the easiest place to win the war on ads: your desktop or laptop computer. This is where you have the most control, you know? You can install things and change settings pretty easily.

Browser Ad Blockers: Your Best Friend

This is the number one thing you should do. An ad blocker is a small piece of software, an extension, that you add to your web browser like Chrome, Firefox, or Edge. It’s really straightforward.

These little programs work by keeping a list of all the web addresses that serve ads. When your browser tries to load a page, the ad blocker basically says, “Nope, not loading that ad address.” The page loads, but the ad space is just empty. It’s pretty great.

How to get one (for Chrome, but it’s similar for others):
Go to the Chrome Web Store.
Search for “uBlock Origin” or “AdGuard.” These are normally considered to be the top choices.
Click “Add to Chrome.”
A little icon will pop up next to your address bar. That’s it, you’re done.

Messing with Your Browser’s Built-in Settings

Most browsers have some tools already built in to help, they just don’t always turn them on by default. They can be pretty helpful, though they won’t catch everything an ad blocker does.

In Google Chrome, for instance, you can go into your settings. Look for “Privacy and security.” In there, you’ll find “Site Settings” and then “Pop-ups and redirects.” Make sure that’s set to “Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups.”

There’s also a section now called “Ad privacy.” You can go in there and tell Google not to track the topics you’re interested in or show you ads based on the sites you’ve visited. It’s a step.

Taking the Fight to Your Phone: Blocking Ads on Mobile

Your phone is probably where ads are the most irritating. Those tiny banners at the bottom of the screen or the full-screen video ads in a free game. Getting rid of them is a bit different than on a computer.

For Android People

You have a couple of really good options on Android. One of the best is something called a “Private DNS.” It sounds technical but it’s really just typing a special address into a settings box.

What it does is filter out ad servers for your entire phone, not just in your browser but in many apps too.

Here’s the basic idea:
Go to your phone’s Settings.
Find “Network & internet” or “Connections.”
Look for “Private DNS.”
Choose the “Private DNS provider hostname” option.
Type in something like `dns.adguard.com` and hit save.

Just like that, a huge number of ads will just disappear from your phone. You can also get browsers like Brave, which has an ad blocker built right into it from the start.

For the iPhone Crowd

Apple gives you ways to handle this too. It is mostly done through the Safari browser. You can’t change the DNS quite as easily as on Android, but you can get content blockers.

You just have to go to the App Store and search for an “ad blocker” or “content blocker.” You install it like any other app.

Then, you have to go into your iPhone’s Settings, find Safari, and look for “Extensions” (or “Content Blockers” on older versions). You have to flip a switch to turn your new ad blocker on. It’s an extra step but it works.

The Whole-House Method: Network-Level Blocking

Okay, so this one is for people who want to go a step further. This is about blocking ads for every single device connected to your home Wi-Fi. Your computer, your phone, your smart TV, your guests’ phones, everything.

The most common way people do this is with a thing called a Pi-hole. It’s a little computer (a Raspberry Pi) that you set up to be your network’s DNS server. It basically inspects all your internet traffic and just drops the requests that are for ads.

This is more of a weekend project. You have to buy the little computer and follow a guide to set it up. But once it’s running, it’s amazing. Ads just vanish from your whole home network. It is a very effective solution.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. How do I block Google ads for good?

The best all-around way is to install a reputable browser extension like uBlock Origin on your computer and use a Private DNS service like AdGuard DNS on your mobile phone. That combination will get rid of almost everything.

2. Can I finally block ads on YouTube in 2025?

Yes, but it’s tricky. On a computer, a good ad blocker like uBlock Origin still works pretty well against YouTube ads. On mobile, it’s tougher. Using ad-blocking browsers or special third-party YouTube apps is often the only way.

3. Is it safe to use an ad blocker?

Generally, yes. Stick to well-known, highly-rated ad blockers from official browser stores. Be careful of random ones, as some bad ones could potentially spy on your browsing. uBlock Origin and AdGuard are typically safe bets.

4. Will blocking ads break some websites?

Sometimes, yes. A small number of websites might detect your ad blocker and ask you to turn it off. Or, a site might not load correctly if it relies heavily on ad scripts. Most good ad blockers let you easily disable them for a specific site if you run into problems.

5. What is the absolute best ad blocker for 2025?

It’s a tie, really. For most people, uBlock Origin is perfect because it’s lightweight and super effective. AdGuard is also excellent and offers more features, like blocking ads on your whole computer not just the browser, if you get their paid version.

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Key Takeaways

The easiest first step is a browser extension like uBlock Origin for your computer. It takes two minutes to set up.
On your phone, using a Private DNS (Android) or a Content Blocker app (iPhone) is the most effective method.
Don’t forget to check your browser’s built-in settings for pop-up blocking and privacy features.
For a complete, whole-home solution, a Pi-hole is a fantastic project for the more technically minded person.

So there you have it. You don’t have to just sit there and accept a web experience that’s cluttered with stuff you don’t want to see. You have options, and most of them are free and pretty simple to put in place. It’s about taking back a little bit of control over your own screen.