Ad blocking
You can block ads on Chrome without an extension: Chrome stops pop-ups and intrusive ads by itself, and a DNS ad blocker removes many of the rest, in Chrome or on the whole device. Here’s how to set it up on a computer, Android and iPhone, and what changed for ad blocking extensions.
In short
Chrome has two layers of protection against ads. Its own settings stop pop-ups and the worst ads, and a DNS ad blocker stops many of the other ads, the ones from ad networks. Neither needs an extension.
Chrome blocks pop-ups by default. It also has its own ad blocker for sites with a poor ad experience: too many ads, ads with flashing graphics or autoplaying sound, and ad walls before the content. When it removes them, Chrome shows the message “Intrusive ads blocked”.
Both settings are in Chrome’s site settings on a computer. If ads open in new windows or a site floods you with ads, check them:
For pop-ups, choose “Don’t allow sites to send pop-ups or use redirects.” For intrusive ads, keep “Ads are blocked on sites known to show intrusive or misleading ads.” Ordinary banners, video ads and trackers still load, though. For those you need an ad blocker.
Chrome now runs only extensions built on Manifest V3, its newer extension platform. Since July 2025, with Chrome 138, older extensions are switched off for everyone and can’t be turned back on. In August 2026, Google removed the last of them from the Chrome Web Store.
The original uBlock Origin was one of those older extensions, so it no longer works in Chrome. Its developer offers uBlock Origin Lite instead. Chrome applies its blocking rules for it, its filter lists update only when the extension itself updates, and some of uBlock Origin’s filtering can’t be ported. In the developer’s words, Lite is too different from the original to be an automatic replacement.
Any extension also works only in the browser it’s installed in. A DNS ad blocker needs no extension, and once it’s set up on the device, it covers Chrome, other browsers and apps.
A DNS ad blocker works before a page loads. When Chrome looks up the address of an ad server, the blocker doesn’t give it out, so the ad never loads. Chrome can send its lookups straight to such a blocker with its Use secure DNS setting:
If your computer is managed by your work or school, or parental controls are on, Chrome doesn’t let you use secure DNS. Then set Seawall for the whole computer instead, if its settings allow it.
That’s the better option anyway: ads are filtered in other browsers and apps too, not only in Chrome. Follow the Windows or Mac guide and leave “Use secure DNS” on “OS default (when available).”
Looking for an ad blocker for Chrome on Android? Use the phone’s Private DNS setting with your Seawall address. It filters ads in Chrome, in other browsers and in apps, on Wi-Fi and on mobile data. The Android guide shows each step.
Then check one setting in Chrome itself. If “Use secure DNS” is set to another provider, Chrome skips Private DNS, and ads come back in Chrome only. Open it and choose “Use your current service provider”:
To block ads in Chrome only, without changing the phone’s settings, choose “Choose another provider” there, pick “Custom” and paste your Seawall template into “Provider URL.”
On iPhone and iPad, install the Seawall profile. It works for the whole device, so ads from ad networks stop in Chrome, Safari and your apps.
If a site stops working, add it to your allow list or pause protection for a few minutes in your Seawall account.
Yes, for pop-ups and for intrusive ads on sites with a poor ad experience. Ordinary banners, video ads and trackers still load, so you need an extension or a DNS ad blocker for those.
Chrome’s own blockers are free, and so are many extensions. DNS ad blockers come both free and paid. You can try Seawall free.
No. Since July 2025 (Chrome 138), Chrome doesn’t run extensions built on the old platform, including the original uBlock Origin. Its developer offers uBlock Origin Lite, which filters differently.
No. YouTube serves ads from the same servers as its videos, so a DNS ad blocker can’t tell them apart.
On Android, turn on Private DNS with your Seawall address and keep Chrome’s “Use secure DNS” on your current service provider. On iPhone, install the Seawall profile.
Rarely. If a site stops working, add it to your allow list or pause protection for a few minutes.
Pop-up ads come from three places: ad networks, apps that draw ads over other apps, and website notifications you once allowed. Here’s how to stop pop-up ads of each kind on an Android phone, iPhone, Windows and Mac.
A DNS ad blocker, or DNS adblock, stops ads before they load by refusing to look up the servers that deliver them. Here’s how using DNS to block ads works, how it compares with browser extensions and where it falls short.
Seawall blocks ads and trackers in apps, browsers and on smart TVs. No app needed.