How to block advertisements on your Android smartphone

HIGHLIGHTS

·         You can block ads on your Android smartphone using Chrome browser settings.

·         You can block ads on your Android smartphone by installing the ad-blocker app.

·         You can download apps such as Adblock Plus, AdGuard and AdLock to block ads on your phone.

Picture this: It's a lazy Saturday afternoon and you are sitting outside in your balcony reading the bunch of articles that you had bookmarked throughout the week for your weekly reading dose and you are bombarded with an advertisement. Then while you are halfway through that stimulating piece, there is another ad and another.

Advertisements have been around ever the dawn of the internet era. The advancements in smartphone technology have only made matters worse for the internet users who cannot seem to walk a step without stumbling across an advertisement. Today, advertisements are on the web, on social media sites and even in the utility apps and gaming apps that we install on our smartphones.

The web of these advertisements is so strong that to most Android users, there might seem no way out of it. But thankfully for us, that's not the case. To block ads on your Android smartphone, all you need to do is follow these simple steps:

Using Google Chrome browser settings:

You might be used to seeing a host of ads while browsing the internet - watching videos or reading articles - using Chrome web browser on your smartphone, but these ads are not displayed by Chrome. And there is a simple way using which you can block these ads. Just follow these steps:

- Go to Chrome browser settings.

- Go to Site Settings and tap on it.

- Go to Pop-ups and toggle the switch

Using an ad blocker app:

Alternatively, you can use also use Ad Blocker app on your smartphone. This will not only block ads that are served to you while surfing the internet but also the ones that you see while using apps and games. But there is a catch. You might have to make some changes to your device settings to install the ad-blocker APK. You can use AdBlock Plus to block all ads on your smartphones.

To configure your smartphone to download the Adblock Plus APK:

- Go to your device Settings. The go-to Security.

- Now, scroll down to Unknown sources option and tap on the checkbox.

- Tap on the OK option in the confirmation popup.

To install the Adblock Plus APK:

- Download AdBlock Plus on your smartphone using a mobile browser.

- Open the File Manager and look for the APK of the file. Now tap on the install option.

- Once you have installed the app, open the app.

- Tap on OK option to confirm.

Alternatively, you can also use AdGuard, AdLock and AdAway apps to protect your Android smartphone from ads.