Are you tired of annoying notifications, pop-ups, and ads like interstitials and overlays when you browse the web in your Chrome browser? You are not alone.
With a few tweaks, you can tell Chrome to stop pestering you and invading your space. Find out how to turn off Chrome notifications with the right settings and extensions so you don’t get distracted from your browsing experience.
Which version of Chrome are you using?
Some of the steps below to turn off Chrome notifications only work with Chrome version 80. To check your version, open Chrome on your computer.
Click on the three dots in the upper right corner, open Help and select About Google Chrome.
If you’re using Chrome version 79 or earlier, click the button to manually update to version 80.
Block website notifications
There are times when you want to see certain notifications like Slack messages or incoming emails.
– /
However, the first time you visit websites, asking for permission to send push notifications can be very frustrating.
If you’re tired of rejecting requests, change your Chrome settings to either turn off Chrome notifications entirely or only push notifications on certain sites.
- Open the Chrome browser
- Click on the three vertical dots (more) in the upper right corner and select “Settings”.
- Scroll down to Advanced. Click Privacy & Security> Site Settings> Notifications.
To block all website notifications, turn off the toggle switch next to Websites may request sending notifications.
If there are specific apps or websites that you want to allow notifications from, scroll down to the section that says Allow.
If you want to receive notifications from some sites, add URLs to the permissions section.
Block auto-playing videos
Videos that play automatically can be very damaging, especially if you are browsing the web at work. Video autoplay also slows down your page loading speed.
AutoplayStopper Chrome is a free extension that automatically stops playing all videos.
How to Prevent Marketing Overlays
Marketing overlays usually appear shortly after you land on a web page or when you’re done and ready to leave.
Like those pop-ups that appear on Windows, they often contain a call to action (CTA) and ask you to take action. While getting rid of all the overlays isn’t easy, using the Chrome Poper Blocker extension can help reduce the number of overlays you display.
How to block cookie notifications
Since the European Union started to enforce the GDPR, every website you visit receives a cookie notification. It hides some of the content you are trying to read.
If you’re tired of hitting accept buttons every time you visit a new website, install the Chrome extension. I am not interested in cookies.
Make pop-ups less intrusive with quieter messaging
A lot of people don’t like pop-ups asking for your permission to display notifications every time they visit a new site. Fortunately, there is a way to make these notifications less intrusive without covering them completely.
When Google released Chrome version 80 in February 2020, it introduced a quieter permission setting for notifications.
This option is not yet automatically enabled for each user. Google says it plans to make it automatic for users who consistently dismiss notifications and for websites that have very few people accepting their notifications.
To manually activate it:
- Enter chrome: // flags / # quiet-notification-prompts into your Chrome browser.
- Include the first parameter, which reads: Allow quieter prompt notification.
- Restart your browser.
- Click on the three-dot menu bar in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Go to Settings> Advanced> Privacy & Security> Site Settings> Notifications.
- Before enabling quieter notifications, the Notifications section had only On options. and Off.
- interrupting you) to the “On” position.
If Chrome has quieter notifications enabled, a bell-shaped notification icon will appear in the address bar.
When you hover your mouse over the icon, you will see a message stating that the notification has been blocked. This will also give you the opportunity to view it.
How to block ads that are too resource-intensive
While Google isn’t going to remove all ads from their browser, they are trying to give you the ability to block the most intrusive ones. Advertisements take up too many system resources. Blocking them saves battery power on mobile devices and improves the Internet experience.
Follow these steps to block ads on Google Chrome:
- Open your Chrome browser.
- Type chrome: // flags / # enable-heavy-ad-intrusion in your browser’s address bar and press Enter.
- Open the drop-down menu under Heavy Ad Intervention and select Enabled.
- Click Restart in the bottom pop-up window to restart the browser.
If you don’t see this option, it means you’re not using Chrome 80 and you need to update by going to the settings page.
In the Chrome browser, enter chrome: // settings / help in the address bar. You will be taken directly to Settings, where you can update Chrome to the latest version.
Block ads on Chrome with Extensions
Another way to block ads that are not only annoying but slow you down is to use Chrome extensions. (Microsoft Edge users can find similar ad blocking methods here.)
Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus is a free ad blocker for Google Chrome.
Features include:
- Block pop-ups.
- Configure features such as whitelisting featured sites.
- Boost your privacy by stopping tracking and hiding ad malware.
- Speed ??up your downloads.
uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin is an ad blocking Chrome extension.
UBlock features include:
- Load and apply thousands of filters.
- Reading and creating filters from host files.
- Save memory and CPU.
Ghost
Ghostery
Ghostery is a free Chrome extension that blocks ads from web pages and removes clutter.
Ghostery also:
- allows you to view and block website trackers so you can see who is collecting your data.
- Speeds up page load times and optimizes browser performance.
- Provides multiple insights and displays dashboards so you can focus on the information most important to you.
Knowing how to turn off Chrome notifications, auto-play videos, overlays, and ads can help you have a smoother and less annoying web browser experience.
–