How to Block Pop-Up Ads in Your Web Browser

Block pop-ups in Chrome, Explorer, Edge, Safari, and more

What to Know

• Chrome: Go to Settings >Site Settings >Pop-ups and redirects. Toggle Blocked (recommended) to the On position.
• Safari: Go to Preferences >Security. Select the Block pop-up windows check box.
• Firefox: Go to Options/Preferences and choose Content (Windows) or Privacy and Security (macOS) >Block pop-up windows.

Most major web browsers include features that block unwanted pop-up ads. Here’s how to block pop-up ads in Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Safari, Opera, and Firefox using any Windows, Mac, Linux, or mobile device.

Block Pop-Up Ads in Google Chrome

The process for blocking pop-up ads in the Google Chrome web browser is similar on Chrome on a Mac, PC, iOS device, or Android device.

Block Pop-Ups in Chrome on a Mac or PC

Open Chrome on a Mac or PC.

Select More (the three vertical dots located in the upper-right corner), then select Settings.

Under Privacy and security, select Site Settings.

Select Pop-ups and redirects.

Turn on the Blocked (recommended) toggle switch.

Since some pop-ups are legitimate, under Allow, add any sites for which you want to accept pop-ups. If you only want to block pop-ups from specific sites, add those sites under Block.

Block Pop-Ups in Chrome on iOS Devices

Open the Chrome app, tap More (the three dots), then tap Settings.

Tap Content Settings > Block Pop-ups.

Turn off the Block Pop-ups option.

Block Pop-Ups in Chrome on Android Devices

Open the Chrome app on the Android device.

On the right of the address bar, tap More (the three dots), then tap Settings.

Tap Site settings > Pop-ups and redirects.

Turn off Pop-ups and redirects.

Block Pop-Up Ads in Microsoft Edge

These instructions apply only to the new Microsoft Edge Chromium-based browser on Windows.

For Edge on a Mac, go to Settings, select Site Permissions > Pop-ups and redirects, then turn on the Block toggle.

Open Edge and go to Settings and more (the three dots).

Select Settings (the gear icon).

Go to Site Permissions.

Select Pop-ups and redirects.

Move the Block toggle to On.

Block Pop-Up Ads in Internet Explorer 11

These instructions apply only to Internet Explorer 11 in Windows.

Open Internet Explorer 11, select Tools (the gear icon), then select Internet Options.

On the Privacy tab, under Pop-up Blocker, select the Turn on Pop-up Blocker check box, then select OK.

Select Settings.

In the Pop-up Blocker settings dialog box, under Blocking level, set the blocking level to High: Block all pop-ups (Ctrl + Alt to override).

Select Close, then select OK.

Block Pop-Up Ads in Safari

For Macs with OS X El Capitan and higher OS X and macOS versions:

For Safari on iOS devices, tap Settings, then select Safari. Under General, turn on Block Pop-ups.

Go to the Safari menu, then select Preferences.

Select Security at the top of the window.

Select the Block pop—up windows check box to enable this feature.

Block Pop-Up Ads in Opera

These instructions apply to the Opera web browser.

In Opera, press Alt+P to open Settings.

Turn on Block Ads.

Alternatively, select the shield icon at the right side of the Opera address bar and turn on Block ads.

Block Pop-Up Ads in Mozilla Firefox

These instructions apply to Firefox on Macs or PCs.

For Firefox on an iOS device, tap the Firefox menu button and select the Settings icon. You may have to swipe left to locate this option. Turn on the Block Pop-up Windows option.

Open Firefox and select the Firefox button near the upper-left corner of the window.

Select Options (Windows) or Preferences (macOS).

In Windows, select Content in the left sidebar. In macOS, select Privacy and Security.

Scroll down and select the Block pop-up windows check box.

What is a pop-up blocker? How to enable your web browser’s pop-up blocker or disable it to access necessary pop-ups

Unwanted pop-ups were once one of the most annoying aspects of browsing the web, with ads and other pop-ups frequently littering the screen.

These days, most browsers have built-in pop-up blocking features that have made this a problem of the past. In fact, now it’s more likely you’ll need to disable your pop-up blocker for various reasons.

Advantages of pop-up blockers

Pop-up blockers automatically prevent small pop-up windows from interfering with your web browsing.

In general, most pop-ups are a nuisance – they are usually advertisements and can even be malware, and most people would prefer not to see them.

As a general rule, you should leave your browser’s pop-up blocker turned on to avoid getting these pop-ups.

Disadvantages of pop-up blockers

Some websites use pop-ups as an essential part of site navigation. A pop-up might be part of the login process, help you sign up for a newsletter, or enable a custom feature on the site.

Some sites simply might not work properly without being able to open a pop-up. In this situation, you need to allow pop-ups for that site or disable pop-ups for it to work.

How to turn pop-ups on or off in Google Chrome

1. In Chrome, click the three-dot menu at the top right of the screen and click «Settings.»

2. On the left side of the page, click «Privacy and security.»

3. In the «Privacy and Security» section of the page, click «Site settings.»

4. Scroll down to the «Content» section and click «Pop-ups and redirects.» Here you can turn pop-ups on and off and add exceptions to the list of sites that are allowed or not allowed to use pop-ups.

How to turn pop-ups on or off in Firefox

1. In Firefox, click the three lines at the top right of the screen and then click «Options.»

2. On the left side of the page, click «Privacy and Security.»

3. Scroll down to the «Permissions» section. You should see the option to «Block pop-up windows.» You can enable or disable it with a checkmark, and use the «Exceptions» button to control which sites are allowed to show pop-ups.

How to turn pop-ups on or off in Microsoft Edge

1. In Edge, click the three-dot menu and then click «Settings.»

2. On the left side of the page, click «Site permissions.»

3. In the main part of the page, click «Pop-ups and redirects.» Here you can enable or disable pop-ups and specify exceptions to allow pop-ups on certain pages.

Pop-up blocker settings, exceptions and troubleshooting

This document explains all of the settings available in Mozilla Firefox for controlling pop-ups.

Table of Contents

What are pop-ups?

Pop-up windows, or pop-ups, are windows that appear automatically without your permission. They vary in size but usually don’t cover the whole screen. Some pop-ups open on top of the current Firefox window, while others appear underneath Firefox (pop-unders).

Firefox allows you to control both pop-ups and pop-unders in Firefox Options Preferences Settings Preferences . Pop-up blocking is turned on by default, so you don’t have to worry about enabling it to prevent pop-ups from appearing in Firefox.

When blocking a pop-up, Firefox displays an information bar (if it hasn’t been previously dismissed – see below), as well as an icon in the address bar.

When you click either the Options Preferences Settings Preferences button in the info bar or the icon in the address bar, a menu is displayed with the following choices:

• Allow/Block pop-ups for this site
• Edit Pop-up Blocker Options Preferences …
• Don’t show this message when pop-ups are blocked
• (show the blocked pop-up)

Pop-up blocker settings

To access the pop-up blocker settings:

1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and select Preferences . Click the menu button and select Options . Preferences . Settings .
2. Select the Privacy & Security panel.

• Under the Permissions section, uncheck the box next to Block pop-up windows to disable the pop-up blocker altogether.
• A click on Exceptions… opens a dialog box with a list of sites that you want to allow to display pop-ups.
• The dialog box offers you the following choices:
  

Allow: Click this to add a website to the exceptions list. Remove Website: Click this to remove a website from the exceptions list. Remove All Websites: Click this to remove all of the websites in the exceptions list.

Pop-ups not being blocked

Is the pop-up coming from Firefox?

The pop-up may not actually be coming from Firefox. You can determine where the pop-up is coming from by the appearance of the window.

• If you see the address bar with the Site Info button the Tracking Protection button and the Site Identity button (a shield and a padlock) in the pop-up window, the pop-up is coming from Firefox.
• If you don’t see the button these buttons , you may have malware on your computer that causes the pop-ups. For help, see Troubleshoot Firefox issues caused by malware.

Is the pop-up blocker on and enabled for this site?

1. In the Menu bar at the top of the screen, click Firefox and select Preferences . Click the menu button and select Options . Preferences . Settings .
2. Select the Privacy & Security panel and go to the Permissions section.
3. Make sure the Block pop-up windows checkbox is checked.
4. To the right of Block pop-up windows, click the Exceptions… button. A dialog box will open with a list of sites that are allowed to show pop-ups.
5. If the site that’s opening pop-ups is listed here, select it and press Remove Website .
6. Click on Save Changes to update your changes.
7. Close the about:preferences page. Any changes you’ve made will automatically be saved.

Is the pop-up shown after a mouse click or a key press?

Certain events, such as clicking or pressing a key, can spawn pop-ups regardless of if the pop-up blocker is on. This is intentional, so that Firefox doesn’t block pop-ups that websites need to work.

Is it a true pop-up window?

Sometimes ads are designed to look like windows, but really aren’t. Firefox’s pop-up blocker can’t stop these ads.

Mozilla surveys

When you visit a Mozilla website, sometimes you’ll see a pop-up asking you to participate in a survey. The only third-party that Mozilla ever uses for surveys is SurveyGizmo, which has been vetted by our legal and privacy teams. The Firefox pop-up blocker doesn’t block these pop-ups.

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