Most of the sites you visit quietly load trackers that follow you around the web. uBlock Origin is the single highest-impact way to stop them, a free, open-source browser extension that blocks ads and third-party trackers. Here's how to set it up right.
Step 1: Install it (2 min)
On Firefox, Edge, or a Chromium browser that still supports it, open your browser's extension store and search "uBlock Origin." Install the one by Raymond Hill, the original, not the many copycats.
On Chrome, which has limited the classic version, use uBlock Origin Lite, or switch to Firefox, where the full version runs unrestricted.
Pin the icon so you can see it working.
Step 2: Leave the defaults on
Out of the box, uBlock Origin blocks the large majority of ads and trackers with zero setup. For most people that's the whole job, you don't need to change a thing.
Step 3: Turn on a few extra lists (optional, 1 min)
Click the icon, open the dashboard, then "Filter lists," and enable a couple of the privacy lists (the tracker and annoyance lists). More coverage, still free.
Step 4: If a site breaks
Rarely, a site misbehaves with blocking on. Click the uBlock icon and hit the big power button to turn it off for that one site. Everything else stays protected.
Want to see it work? Scan a site at themarkup.org/blacklight before and after installing, and watch the tracker count drop. That's the difference between knowing you're watched and doing something about it.
Quick tip
After you install it, open your most-visited site and click the uBlock icon. The counter shows how many trackers it just blocked on that one page.
Up next · Friday
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