How to Control Gmail Ads: A Step-by-Step Solution to Remove Unwanted Ads
If you’ve been noticing a surge in advertisements within your Gmail inbox recently, you’re not alone. According to a report from 9to5Google, Google seems to have ramped up its Gmail ads efforts in the past few days, resulting in an increased presence of ads on both the desktop and mobile versions of the free email service. What’s even more concerning is that ads are now appearing in areas of the app that were previously ad-free. However, there’s good news – there is a solution to remove these unwanted ads.
How to remove adverts from Gmail
If you’re tired of encountering ads scattered throughout your inbox, here’s a step-by-step guide to stop them from appearing. Keep in mind that by following these steps, you will lose the categorized tabs (such as Social, Updates, Promotions, etc.), but it’s a relatively small sacrifice:
- Open Gmail in your web browser and click on the Settings icon (represented by a cogwheel) located in the top-right corner.
2. In the panel that appears, click on “See all settings” at the top.
3. Navigate to the “Labels” section and scroll down until you find “Categories.”
4. Under the “Show in message list” option, click on “hide” for Social, Updates, Forums, and Promotions.
5. By disabling these categories, you will remove the tabs from your inbox that helped you sort out spam from important messages. Currently, Google only inserts ads when these categories are enabled, so turning them off will also deactivate the ads.
In response to a user’s complaint about the sudden increase in ads on Twitter, the official Gmail account replied, “That doesn’t sound good.”
Personally, I share your approach of hiding all categories as soon as I create a new Gmail account, which has allowed me to enjoy an ad-free inbox experience. However, it’s likely that Google may eventually find ways to incorporate ads into the main inbox as well. Nevertheless, I’ll continue to cherish my ad-free inbox for as long as I can maintain it in its current state.
