Effective Strategies for Blocking Targeted Advertisements on YouTube

Have you ever gone on a YouTube binge only to get the same annoying pre-roll ad over and over again? The easiest way to solve this problem is to pay for YouTube Premium and get rid of all the advertising. However, there is a free solution, too.

Repetitive ads are a systemic issue due to Google’s user-targeting advertising algorithm. As mentioned, you can get rid of ads entirely and never think about this again with YouTube Premium . But not everyone wants to pay $14 per month for YouTube. The alternative is free, but it requires more effort.

When you see the same ad over and over again, click the small “i” circle icon in the lower-left corner of the video, directly above the play/pause button.

The video will pause and you’ll see a pop-up window titled “My Ad Center” appear. The pop-up includes some information about the advertiser and why you’re seeing the ad. There’s also a link to update your “Ad Settings.”

All you need to do to stop seeing this specific ad, however, is click “Block Ad” at the top.

After clicking, a message will explain that you won’t see this specific ad again, but you may still see ads from the advertiser. Click “Continue” to confirm.

The ad is now blocked. If you feel the ad was inappropriate or offensive in some way, you can also choose to “Report Ad” from the same pop-up.

Unfortunately, it’s not possible to do this on the YouTube apps for Android, iPhone, and iPad. It appears like you would be able to since the same “i” circle icon appears in the bottom corner of the video. However, there is no “Block Ad” option when you open the “My Ad Center” window. Bummer.

If you’re thinking, “Why not just do this for every pre-roll ad on YouTube?” Don’t bother. Thanks to its ubiquity, YouTube has a practically inexhaustible supply of advertisers wanting to sell you stuff. The best use of your time is to simply flag the ads that are the most annoying or frequent.

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