Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

You can now mute more annoying ads with Google’s new ad controls

By

google ad controls
guteksk7/Shutterstock
There’s not much worse than a specific ad following you around the internet. We’ve all been there; you search “left handed weed wackers” once, for your great uncle at Thanksgiving, and suddenly you’re seeing them on every website you visit. Thankfully, your weed-whacking hell may be over, as Google is rolling out even more ways for users to control the ads they see, and to mute annoying ads from specific advertisers.

Announced via a post on Google’s safety & security blog, the Mute This Ad feature launched way back in 2012 has been buffed up, giving users the option to mute specific “reminder” ads — the ones that remind you to go back to a store you’d previously visited. While those ads may function well when someone does genuinely need reminding of a purchase, it can also be rather annoying to be constantly reminded of something you have no intention of buying. From today, users will be able to mute specific ads from specific advertisers to ensure unnecessary ads won’t inflict themselves on you again. And thanks to another small change, your preferences will be carried over to any other devices, so any ads you mute on your laptop also won’t show on your tablet, smartphone, or desktop PC.

Recommended Videos

It’s the latest in Google’s ongoing drive to ensure that users are only seeing the ads that they want to see. While an ad-free existence might be tempting to some (and attainable), Google would obviously prefer it if we choose to live with them. For that reason, the search giant has been quite liberal with ad preferences, launching Google Dashboard back in 2009, and consistently improving it so everyone has access to the same data that Google holds on them. From the dashboard, users can view and turn off access to Google searches, viewed YouTube videos, and more — it all comes down to how happy you are to let Google have your data.

Related

It’s a win-win for Google — more relevant ads means that Google’s ad algorithms can really zero in what each user really wants, which means a better return on investment for anyone looking to invest in Google’ ad services. Because the only thing worse than an unwanted ad, is an unneeded ad.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Mark Jansen
Mark Jansen
Contributor
Mark Jansen is an avid follower of everything that beeps, bloops, or makes pretty lights. He has a degree in Ancient &…
5 phones you should buy instead of the Google Pixel 8
A person holding the Google Pixel 8, showing the back of the phone.

The Google Pixel 8 is a well-received Android-based smartphone. However, there are reasons why you might not choose it and opt for something else. Perhaps its 6.2-inch display does not meet your requirements, or its camera system does not match your expectations. It could also be possible that you would prefer a phone released in 2024 instead of one launched late last year.

If you’re not interested in buying the Google Pixel 8, several alternative phones may be more suitable for your needs. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy S24 has the same-sized display as the Pixel 8 but with better internals. Alternatively, you could consider the OnePlus 12R, which offers a bigger display and better internals at a lower price. And that's just scratching the surface.

Read more
Google just released the first Android 15 beta. Here’s what’s new
The Android 15 logo on a smartphone.

Google has just released the first public beta build of Android 15, marking an end to the developer-focused test phase. The beta version’s release also means that Android 15 is finally in a state where it can be tried by the masses without people having to worry about too many bugs leaving their phone in a sorry state.

The first beta version of Android 15 doesn’t introduce a ton of new features, as most of the notable additions have already appeared in the Developer Preview builds. Google’s blog post, however, mentions the following features as the key highlights

Read more
Microsoft finds a sneaky way to slip more ads into Windows
The new windows 11 start menu.

Microsoft is currently testing a new way to showcase ads on the Windows 11 Start Menu, and it's meant to encourage users to download more applications.

The brand has used the top of the Windows start menu as an area to showcase general ads in the past, and it was not well-received by system users. However, it is now experimenting with putting what it calls “app promotions” at the bottom of the start menu area, according to Windows Central.

Read more