Ad blockers have become more prevalent in recent years; they are supported on browsers for nearly every platform, from Apple to Android and Mac to Windows. But while ad blockers are immensely useful, there are times you might want to disable them. If you use the Brave browser, its built-in Shields offers a simple on/off option that’s easily accessible; for most other apps, it’s not as straightforward.
In this article, we’ll look at how and when to disable your ad blocker. Every ad blocking application or web browser with built-in ad blocking will have the option to temporarily disable ad blocking.
How ad blockers work
Ad blockers are an application, like a browser extension, that either alters or removes advertisements on a webpage. As your webpage loads, your ad blocker compares the site’s resources against a list of blocked resources and acts accordingly.
Sometimes the advertising content is replaced with an approved ad, but other times it’s replaced with a broken link or hole.
Ad blockers actually block content in two primary ways simultaneously: by hiding an ad, or by preventing the ad from ever loading. The latter method, known as request blocking, is the most common.
As a web page loads, the ad blocker compares the list of scripts to known advertisements and advertising techniques. If the application finds a match, that request is blocked.
Why disable your ad blocker
If ad blockers prevent unwanted ads, why would you ever turn them off? There are at least two good reasons why you might want to disable your ad blocker, at least temporarily.
- To fix a broken site
Ad blockers are not perfect; occasionally, they will disable something that is not an ad. If you have a particular website that never seems to load correctly, and you are using an ad blocker, you can turn it off quickly and try loading the site again.
- To show your financial support
The Internet economy is based on surveillance and ads. Companies track your browsing habits, third-party data brokers buy and sell that information, and advertising companies build ads based on it. The whole system relies on trading your personal browsing data for access to a free Internet.
Brave fights against that old way of doing things through Brave Rewards. Brave Rewards is built on the Basic Attention Token (BAT). People who use the Brave Browser can earn tokens by viewing privacy-respecting ads. You can automatically tip a set amount each month, or give one-time tips to your favorite sites and creators. You can learn more about becoming and supporting Brave Creators here.
Basic instructions on how to disable your ad blocker
Brave reinvents the Internet economy by valuing user’s privacy and putting them in control of their data. Brave Shields blocks ads and trackers - but if you want to disable them briefly, the process is incredibly simple. Here’s how to disable your ad blocker on Brave and other browsers.
Brave
Disabling Shields requires just a click of a button. In your search bar at the top of the screen, the Shields symbol will be displayed on the right. Click it to pull up a menu; the first option is a simple toggle to turn Shields on or off.
Chrome
Jump to your “three dots” menu on the right side of your Chrome toolbar. Now you’ll have a couple of steps: scroll to the bottom of the menu to find Settings.
In Settings, you need to find the Advanced button. Click it to open a new menu.
Now you need Privacy and Security, then Site Settings. In that menu, you’ll find a tab for Ads.
In Ads, you’ll be able to turn Chrome’s ad blocker on and off.
AdBlock Plus and other third-party applications
Each application will vary slightly, but you can control any of the third-party plug-ins and extensions just like you would a normal extension. The Extensions menu is located under the “three bars” or “three dots” menu for Brave and Chrome; most other browsers use a similar method. View our guide about browser extensions and how they work to learn more.
Brave - a new solution to the ad-blocking problem
Brave Shields save you the hassle of needing a third-party ad blocker, and Brave’s unique rewards system with BAT allows you to support content creators directly, without relying on privacy-invading ads.
And if you need to disable Shields for any reason, the process could not be simpler. Switch to Brave for a simpler, more secure browsing experience - without unwanted ads.
