Preamble #
Look, I get that people need to get paid for their work, so I implore you to support content you like. Not only will they get more money in the end, but your data will not be sold on markets and the creator will be more free to be creative without having to adhere to mentally draining blueprints on how the perfect drafted work should look like to generate the most ad-revenue/clicks (THE MOTHERFUCKING FAUX SURPRISED YOUTUBE-THUMBNAILFACES). There is no monetization here, because as I said on the frontpage of this site, I mainly do this for me, and I can barely afford myself.
This article will not be nuanced. I hate advertising with every fiber of my being. BUY THIS, SUBSCRIBE TO THAT. I’M TELLING YOU YOU ARE NOT A COMPLETE PERSON UNTIL YOU HAVE THIS THING THAT NEEDS REPLACEMENT AFTER 5 USES. We live in an age of predatory grifters preying on the poor,weak and maleable masses.
“Yeah, but I bought -INSERT THINGAMAJIG HERE- because I needed it!” Shut the fuck up you astroturf-fed shell of human. You saw your favourite Tik-Tok douche using that thing and it made you dream that if you had that thing you’d also be in Dubai looking at some fucking fake-ass beach made with sand and human misery.
The nuclear option #
Kill your social-media accounts. Not only will you stop helping enabling fascism, you’ll also be a mentaly healthier person for it. If you use whatsapp, they use your chat-metadata for serving you ads. “Social” media feeds are absolutely infested with ads. It’s their sole purpose. They make their apps to serve you the most ads possible without you turning away. Think of Zuckerberg luciously licking his lips everytime you look at an Instagram ad thinking about the money he’ll earn like a cartoon dog looking at a freshly baked pie on a windowsill. Think of Elon Musk ejaculating furiously everytime you click a twitter link. You could even edge him a little bit by just hovering over the link, he’s kinky like that.
The next best thing #
Brower based ad-blocking #
First off, do not use Chrome. They recently required add-ons to adhere to manifest V3 which renders the use of ad-blockers in their browser impossible. Second off, do not use Brave. There have been problems.
A hardened Firefox install is af of writing still one of the better/easiest options.
As for blocking the ads I use uBlock Origin with following lists enabled:
- All of them.
You (I hope) are not me, so at least enable following lists:
- uBlock Filters
- Easylist
- EasyPrivacy
DNS based ad-blocking #
DNS or Domain Registration System is the service that connects the url you’re trying to reach with the server that site is hosted on. If you have watched old movies where someone makes a call and they need an operator changing a wire to connect them to the person they’re trying to reach, well that operator is the DNS. But what if you could tell that operator to never connect you to any known bad person? Now you’re blocking on a DNS-level, baby.
I subscribe to NextDNS, for €20 for a year. It blocks not only ads, but I can now also block every and all traffic to any server of my choosing. They also work with lists, and I am using the following:
- NextDNS Ads & Trackers Blocklist
- Fanboy’s Annoyance List
- Disconnect (Malvertising)
- Disconnect (Tracking)
- EasyList Dutch
- Fanboy’s Enhanced Tracking List
- Peter Lowe
- NSABlocklist
- No Facebook
I especialy like the No Facebook list, it kills every connection to Meta’s servers, so they can’t track me. Another great plus is that if you mistype a url, and that error leads to a known scamsite, it simply won’t connect. It is one step beyond browserbased adblocking if the browser can’t connect to the server the ad is served from. This ofcourse also helps with in-app ads.
You have other options available for DNS-level tracking like PiHole and AdGuard but I prefer the robustness and set-and-forget aproach of NextDNS over the fickly self-hosted way of those other options. I do self-host a lot of other stuff, and I use Tailscale for reaching that selfhosted stuf, and Tailscale connects to the wider internet through, you guessed it, NextDNS.
VPN based ad-blocking #
In addition to DNS-based ad-blocking, you should also always use a VPN. It shields your IP-adress and gives ad-serving companies a harder time profiling you.
I use ProtonVPN, as it’s part of the e-mailpackage I pay for. It has built-in DNS protection called NetShield, but more importantly it also has the option to use your own DNS resolver.
IRL based ads #
Do a little vandalism. If they can claim public space to peddle their wares, you can reclaim said space back. It’s probably unlawful, but at least it’s ethical.
I don’t have any ideas for you here, use your imagination, but you can probably get far with a can of spraypaint or some quality markers. I’d rather watch a crudely drawn dick than another poster for perfume.
Ending #
Ads used to be a banner on top of a page, a link underneath an article. Ads have now evolved into an entity, following you around the internet, taking notes on what sites you visit, and selling those notes to the highest bidder. Ads are a cancer on the internet. A scourge in need of cleansing. They have shaped how creators create content, how products are designed, and how people interact. They are the sole reason the internet is shit right now.
The reason your social media feed is designed the way it is, is to serve you more ads. Every page you follow, every image you like is more food for the algorithm.
I also don’t think the current legislative push around the world for age gating the entire internet isn’t going to be used to add to the profile they have of you. It’s a binary thing, either you are of age or not. Fuck of with random methods, providing bank details or a copy of your ID. More data for the datagod.
“Oh, but you link to youtube” I hear you screaming, foam running from the corners of your mouth. Yes you absolute fuckstick, yes I do. That’s the beauty of it all, I can still watch videos there without watching ads, and if you do what I do, you can too. Don’t let perfection stand in the way of doing good.
Don’t forget to like and subscribe.
Edited after publication to add some typos.
Background photo by Nuh Isa El Carillo
