Ad blocking
The ad and tracker blocker built into the Browser, and how to let a site show ads.
The Browser blocks ads and trackers on its own, with nothing to install. It's on from the first page you open, in every window, incognito included. The switch is Block ads and trackers in Settings → Privacy and security → Ads and trackers.
What it blocks
The blocker uses the same filter lists as uBlock Origin:
- EasyList for ads
- EasyPrivacy for trackers
- uBlock filters, including its privacy, badware, and unbreak lists
It stops ad and tracker requests before they're sent, hides the empty boxes ads leave behind, and fixes up sites that try to detect or work around blocking, YouTube among them.
Filter list updates
The lists are downloaded straight from the people who publish them and checked once a day. If nothing changed, nothing is downloaded. The line under the switch shows how many filters are loaded, when the lists last changed, and how many requests have been blocked since launch. Press the refresh button beside the switch (Update Filter List) to check now.
If the lists can't be downloaded, the blocker keeps using the copy it has and tries again every half hour.
Letting a site show ads
Some sites ask you to turn off your blocker, and a few break with it on. To let one site through:
- Right-click the page.
- Uncheck Block ads on this site. The page reloads with nothing blocked.
Check it again to start blocking there again. On a Mac, View → Allow or Block Ads on This Site in the menu bar does the same.
Sites you've let through are listed under Settings → Privacy and security → Sites that show ads. Each entry covers the site's subdomains too. Add a site adds one by address, and Remove all clears the list. Cookie banners on these sites are left alone as well.
uBlock Origin Lite
If you installed uBlock Origin Lite before the blocker was built in, it still works. With both on, every request is checked twice, and Settings says so. Turn one off, either here or in Settings → Extensions.
Limits
- An ad that appears after the page has loaded can show for up to a second before it's hidden.
- There's no count of blocked requests per page, only the total in Settings.
- There's no keyboard shortcut for allowing a site.