Online ads have become an unavoidable annoyance that clutter webpages, interrupt videos, track your behavior, and even expose you to malware. But you don‘t have to suffer through this onslaught of unwanted advertisements. Ad blocking browser extensions like Adblock Plus provide a free, open source solution to reclaim your web browsing experience.
In this in-depth Adblock Plus review, I‘ll cover how it effectively blocks ads and trackers, its features and limitations, test results, how to properly install and configure it, and my overall recommendation. By the end, you‘ll have a clear understanding of whether Adblock Plus is the right ad blocker for your needs.
How Adblock Plus Blocks Ads & Trackers
Adblock Plus works in the background of your web browser to scan page content and block anything that matches its continuously updated filter lists. This includes display ads, pop-up ads, auto-playing video ads, trackers that monitor your online activity, push notification requests, social media share buttons, and more.
When you visit a webpage, Adblock Plus quickly analyzes all the page elements before they load. Any content matching its block lists gets filtered out, leaving you with a clean, ad-free experience. Blocked items are replaced by blank spaces to avoid affecting the layout.
The default filter lists block most ads and common trackers out of the box. But Adblock Plus also allows you to subscribe to additional custom filter lists maintained by the community. More advanced users can even create their own custom filters for blocking specific content. This open source, continually improving approach is part of what makes Adblock Plus so effective.
Adblock Plus Free vs Paid Versions
The basic Adblock Plus extension is completely free to use on all supported browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and Opera. This provides all the essential ad and tracker blocking functionality most users need.
There‘s also an optional Adblock Plus Premium subscription for $1.99/month or $19.99/year. It offers a few extra features:
- Blocks floating video ads that appear on top of content
- Blocks surveys and other webpage interruptions
- Blocks website notification requests
- Blocks cookie consent notices
- Directly supports development of Adblock Plus
Paying for Adblock Plus Premium is a way to get a few more blocking features and support the project financially. But the free version works great for the vast majority of users. Adblock Plus does not sell user data – the company sustains development through donations and optional paid subscriptions.
Adblock Plus Test Results
I ran Adblock Plus through a series of independent tests to objectively assess its ability to block ads and trackers. The results show that it is highly effective when properly configured:
- Adblock-Tester.com: 100/100 (when Fanboy‘s Annoyance List enabled)
- Can You Block It: 3/3
- Cover Your Tracks by EFF: 0.5/3
Adblock Plus completely blocked all the test ads from Adblock-Tester.com when I enabled the additional "Fanboy‘s Annoyance List" in the settings. So by default, some less-intrusive ads may get through, but subscribing to extra filter lists allows you to strengthen the blocking.
The Cover Your Tracks test showed that Adblock Plus still allowed some tracking and fingerprinting, even with all the privacy protection options turned on. Trackers attempt to build a unique profile of your system and behavior to identify you across websites. For the highest level of privacy, you may want to use a secure browser like Tor or supplement Adblock Plus with other privacy tools.
In real-world usage, I found Adblock Plus almost completely eliminated ads from the websites and YouTube videos I tested. The blocked elements were removed without breaking the page layout. With the "Allow Acceptable Ads" setting, some less-intrusive ads remained on a few sites. But I could easily disable this for 100% ad-free browsing.
Properly Installing Adblock Plus
For maximum safety and effectiveness, it‘s important to install Adblock Plus directly from the official website at https://adblockplus.org or from your browser‘s trusted extension store. Avoid downloading it from third-party sites, as these versions may contain malware or be outdated.
After installing the extension, you can visit the Options page to configure settings such as:
- Whether to allow some non-intrusive ads
- Disable social media buttons
- Whitelist sites you want to support with ads
- Add custom filter lists for even stronger blocking
I recommend enabling the additional filters and privacy options for the best protection. Just keep in mind that overly aggressive blocking can sometimes break site functionality, so you may need to tweak the settings or whitelist the occasional site for optimal usability.
Adblock Plus Compared to Other Ad Blockers
While Adblock Plus is one of the most popular ad blockers, there are a few other highly rated options to consider as well:
uBlock Origin is another free, open source extension that performs similarly to Adblock Plus in blocking ads and trackers. It‘s a more lightweight option that consumes less memory in your browser. But it offers fewer customization options and is a bit more complicated to configure ideally.
Total Adblock is a premium ad blocker that requires an annual subscription. But it promises stronger privacy protection and support. The company maintains its own filter lists rather than relying only on community efforts.
AdGuard is a powerful cross-platform ad blocker that can filter content in other apps outside your browser as well. It also offers some parental control and security features. But the full version requires a recurring subscription.
Ultimately, Adblock Plus is a great choice for most users seeking a free, trustworthy, highly configurable ad blocker. It strikes an excellent balance of strong default protection, endless customization potential, and easy usability. The open source approach with community-maintained filter lists keeps it continuously updated to block new threats.
Bottom Line
Adblock Plus remains one of the best tools for reclaiming your web browsing experience from invasive ads, trackers, and annoyances. The company‘s transparency and privacy-friendly business model make it a solution you can trust.
While not 100% foolproof, Adblock Plus effectively eliminates most ads and online tracking methods when properly configured with additional filter lists enabled. The free version offers all the key features, while the premium subscription provides a few extras for more advanced protection needs.
With endless customization potential through custom filter lists, Adblock Plus is practically essential for keeping the internet usable. Whether casually browsing on your phone or doing sensitive work research on your desktop, this powerful tool ensures a cleaner, safer, less-invasive online experience.
As intrusive advertising and tracking technologies continue to proliferate, Adblock Plus will only become more indispensable for preserving your sanity, privacy and security online. Install it from an official source, configure it properly, and breathe a sigh of ad-free relief. Your web browser will thank you.
