Best Tricks to Finally Block Twitter Ads

Since the very beginning of its path in 2006, Twitter (now named “X”) has grown over the years. 

Can we agree that no matter how Mr. Musk renames it — X, Y, Æ, or Xii, it will stay Twitter forever? Even media outlets still refer to the platform as Twitter (X).

It has garnered over 330 million monthly active users worldwide sharing their stories, insights, thoughts, and photos. Having gained such a big community from all over the world, it would have been a sin for founders not to integrate commercials to make a pretty penny. It offers several advertising options for businesses and organizations to promote products and services which include promoted tweets, accounts, trends, moments, etc.

And although ads on Twitter are not the most annoying, they are mostly of poor quality or promote dubious goods/services. If you are fed to the teeth with ads overflowing your feed, we’ve got a solution to that problem. Read our article to find out the easiest and most convenient ways to block ads on Twitter. Buckle up!

All About Twitter Ads

The first ads on Twitter appeared in April 2010. These ads were known as “Promoted Tweets” and were initially introduced as a way for businesses to promote their tweets to a wider audience. Through the years, ad formats have broadened and now include a row of different approaches to advertising on the platform. With the acquisition of Twitter by Elon Musk, nothing has really changed concerning ads except for their quality.

As we’ve already mentioned, the quality of ads on Twitter is quite questionable. While some big brands have occasionally paused their Twitter presence due to various reasons, to stay afloat, the platform has given the green light to all advertisers including really shady ones. This resulted in an overwhelming flow of con artists promoting farts in jars and the like.

Besides being pesky, those ads can also pose a threat to your online security. Let’s start with considering all types of currently used ads on the platform.

1. Promoted Tweets. These appear in users’ feeds like regular tweets but are labeled as “Promoted.” They can include text, images, videos, GIFs, and links.
2. Promoted Accounts. Promoted Accounts are advertisements that promote a Twitter account to increase its followers. These ads appear in users’ timelines, “Who to Follow” suggestions, and search results.
3. Promoted Trends. Promoted Trends allow businesses to promote a specific hashtag to the top of Twitter’s trending topics list. When users click on a Promoted Trend, they see tweets from the advertiser related to that hashtag.
4. Promoted Moments. Promoted Moments enable businesses to sponsor curated collections of tweets (Moments) about specific topics or events. These Moments are displayed prominently in users’ timelines and can include tweets from the advertiser and other relevant content.
5. Video Ads. Twitter offers various video advertising options, including In-Stream Video Ads, which play before, during, or after video content; Video Website Cards, which combine video with a clickable link to drive traffic to a website; and Promoted Video Tweets, which promote video content directly in users’ timelines.
6. Carousel Ads. Carousel Ads allow advertisers to showcase multiple images or videos within a single ad unit. Users can swipe through the carousel to view different images or videos and click on individual cards for more information.
7. Website Clicks or Conversions. Advertisers can create ads to drive traffic to their website or encourage specific actions such as sign-ups, purchases, or app downloads.
8. App Install or Engagement Ads. These ads are designed to drive installations of mobile apps or encourage users to engage with existing apps by promoting them directly within the Twitter platform.

Some of these formats are used more frequently as they show better results in comparison to others regarding user engagement. Since you’re here, there’s at least one reason why you might want to remove Twitter ads.

They’re intrusive and irritating. Ads on X have become so common, that every other tweet on your feed is “promoted”. Those shady commercials may lead you to malicious websites or include malicious links/scripts. By clicking on those you may find yourself downloading a virus in the background or compromising your data.

Others include various types of sensitive/adult content. And since Twitter does not strictly moderate posted content, some of the tweets may shock you.

How to Block Ads on Twitter

Fortunately, ads on Twitter can be removed in a snap, both on mobile applications for Android and iOS, and on macOS/Windows PCs. In this section of the article, we’ll consider all available and effective ways of removing ads on Twitter.

To start with, let’s see if it’s possible to reduce the number of commercials on your feed via app/site settings. Although such adjustments won’t remove all ads on Twitter, they can still come in handy.

Adjust Twitter ad preferences

Tweaking your ad preferences will help you turn off Twitter ads that are personalized. To do so, you should:

1. Log in to your Twitter (X) account;
2. Go to Settings&Support;
3. Select the Settings and Privacy option;
4. Go to Privacy and Safety;
5. Select the Ads Preferences item and search for “Personalized ads” toggle;
6. Turn it off.

This method works both on apps and browsers and the menu nesting is the same.

Mute words on Twitter

Twitter has a convenient feature that can be somewhat helpful in blocking some ads. If you face repetitive ads for a particular product/service, you can add it to the list of muted words. Just like following particular hashtags to see specific topics, you create a list of words to hide from your sight. So, how do you mute words on Twitter?

1. Log in to your account;
2. Go to Settings&Support;
3. Select the Settings and Privacy option;
4. Go to Privacy and Safety;
5. Select Mute and block — muted words;
6. Press the “+” icon;
7. Type in words you want to mute.

This will hide ads and content that include those particular words you’ve added to your mute list.

Also, you can block promoted tweets. This will be helpful if you don’t want to mute a particular word but ads including it are cringe. So, if you see an unwanted ad, click the ellipsis icon on it (three dots), then press “I don’t like this ad” and choose whether to mute the account serving this ad or block it entirely. Of course, these methods won’t stop ads on Twitter in their entirety, but will help cut down their number.

Now since we’ve considered settings and features helping to reduce the number of ads popping up in your Twitter feed, let’s talk real. This is how you block all Twitter ads.

How to Block Twitter Ads on Mobile Devices

Generally, using a reliable adblocker on mobile is the best solution to ads. Whether you’re an iOS enjoyer or an Android enthusiast, there are a lot of options on the market to choose from. A trusted and reputable standalone ad-blocking application would not only remove Twitter ads but clean up all your browsers and apps from commercial rubbish. For instance, you can stick with our brainchild — AdLock, and enjoy your online activities completely free of adverts.

Here’s how to get rid of ads on Twitter if you have an iOS phone:

1. Download AdLock from the App Store;
2. Install the app and follow the short guide on setting up adblocking below.

As to Android, here’s what you should do:

• Download the AdLock APK;
• The operating system of your device will ask you to allow permission. Allow and proceed;

After the installation is complete, launch the app. It’ll start with the onboarding to help you adjust the app to start your ad-free journey. Now, you’ll have 14 days of trial to try and test the product, after that, you’ll have to activate the license. For this, you should:

• Tap the hamburger menu button (“≡”);
• Then tap “Activation”;
• Input your key in this window (you’ll need to buy a license key);
• That’s it. AdLock is activated and ready to work.

Please note that if you have trouble setting up AdLock, you can visit the dedicated user guide and contact our support managers if the problem persists.

Alternative methods

There are a couple of additional ways to view adless Twitter which include using a privacy browser like Brave or Tor but these imply you have to use Twitter via a browser, not the actual app. Some find this inconvenient while others do not. If you are one of those who are okay with tweeting through a browser layout, then consider picking one of the decent security browsers. Usually, they provide decent adblocking and enhanced security tools for you to protect data.

Apart from browsers, you may try out VPN apps that provide adblocking but generally, their blocking capabilities are quite mediocre.

Also, there are third-party Twitter clients which alike those alternative YouTube and Twitch apps, but they all have security issues. So, if you value your privacy and would not want your data to be collected and sold — we suggest you don’t use third-party clients.

Blocking Twitter Ads on PC

Removing ads on Twitter on your PC is even easier. For instance, you can add an adblocking extension to the browser you use and you’re set. Of course, not all of the adblocking extensions are equally efficient on all websites and platforms but they perform well. Out of many options, you should choose a trusted product like AdLock or uBlock Origin and that will be enough to remove ads from Twitter.

In case you’re upset with ads not only on Twitter but on YouTube, Twitch, Netflix, you name it — consider getting a standalone app. Since extensions are very much limited in their functionality, they can’t block every type of ad request utilized all over the Internet. This is where a standalone app shines in all its beauty.

Moreover, a standalone adblocker will clean up every browser and software you use on your computer. Not only that but an outstanding adblocker like AdLock will also provide top-tier privacy protection, online security, and malware protection.

To start blocking commercials with AdLock, you should:

1. Pick the app for your operating system: Windows/macOS;
2. Download the executable file and launch the installation;
3. Follow through the installation process carefully;
4. Launch the app and follow the onboarding.
5. Press the “ON” button on the “Ad blocking” tab;
6. Enjoy your ride.

Best Adblockers for Twitter

Here’s a comparative table of the best adblockers for Twitter. AdLock provides more benefits overall and is arguably the best Twitter ad blocker. 

Conclusion

Now you know how to block ads on Twitter (x) without a hassle. Undoubtedly, a standalone adblocking application is a silver bullet solution to any and all ads scattered across the worldwide web. With the help of reliable blocking software, you’ll have a chance to see the Internet the way it looked before the ads existed there.

Given that the plains of the Internet become more and more stuffed with repetitive, annoying, and poor-quality commercial content, having an adblocker on your device is a must, and there’s no but. Download AdLock today and forget about ads forever.

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