Ads tailoring messages to your specific likes and dislikes while following you around the internet from site to site is one of the most privacy-invading experiences you can be subjected to when browsing the web.
And if VPNs are all about increasing your privacy online then surely they can help to stop you from being tracked.
Can A VPN Block Ads?
A VPN by itself will not block ads by default but a VPN that has a built-in ad blocker will block most ads and popups when that ad blocker is turned on.
Most well-rated VPNs like NordVPN, TunnelBear, and Surfshark come with built-in adblockers.
For example, NordVPN’s ad blocker, which is part of their CyberSec feature set will block most ads and popups that you’ll encounter online.
However, because of Google’s terms and conditions, CyberSec won’t block ads in the NordVPN Android app that you download from the Google Play Store.
So it is always best to read up on the terms and conditions of a VPN and ad blocker to ensure it will work as you expect before you spend money on it.
Will A VPN Stop Targeted Ads?
Connecting to a VPN before browsing the internet is not going to be enough to stop you from being tracked and to stop ads from being targeted at you.
A VPN will encrypt your traffic and hide your IP Address but it won’t stop your web browser and device from leaking lots of identifiable pieces of information about you.
If you visit a website in a browser that has your tracking cookies stored on it (even while connected to a VPN), you will still continue to be tracked online and have ads targeted at you.
Apart from cookies, big tech companies use many other pieces of information about you to identify and follow you online.
Advertising companies can distinguish you through the device you use, your browser version, WebGL capability, IP address, etc, and the more information they can get, the better they can identify you and the more unique a profile they can put together of you.
To stop ads from targeting you around the internet you can do things like regularly clearing your cookies, resetting your advertising ID on Android and iOS, and deleting your ad history on myactivity.google.com.
Also, if you use the Firefox browser it has a handy setting in about:config called “ResistFingerprinting“, which helps to randomize information about your setup when turned on.
Related Article: Are All VPNs The Same? (Explained)
What Are Some Good VPNs That Have Ad Blockers?
There are a number of VPNs that have ad blockers, but some of the better ones include NordVPN, TunnelBear, and Surfshark.
These three VPNs all come very highly rated and come with built-in ad blockers that work well to stop most ads and popups from appearing when you are browsing the internet.
However, it is always important to read up on the specific terms and conditions of each VPN before you decide to purchase it, in order to make sure that the ad blocker will work as you expect.
NordVPN is currently our top choice from an ad blocker standpoint, as it has a built-in CyberSec ad blocker that works very well and comes with a lot of security features other than just blocking ads.
TunnelBear also has a browser extension for Chrome that blocks ads by default, but it is not a VPN, it is an encrypted proxy.
Surfshark also has a built-in blocklist that blocks ads and trackers but this feature is turned off by default.
You can turn it on from within the settings panel.
In conclusion, most good VPNs can block ads, but they usually won’t do it by default.
In order for a VPN to be able to block adverts while browsing the internet, you need to go into the settings and enable the ad blocker for your specific VPN service.
