AdLock Review 2024: A Truly Free Ad Blocker

AdLock is a free ad blocker (with a paid tier for more features) that takes your browsing experience from cluttered to clean. AdLock’s free plan is available as an extension for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, while the paid versions cover Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows devices.

With impressive privacy rules about not selling data and a highly effective test results, AdLock might be for you. Even the pricing structure is affordable if you want to go that route. 

If you want a product that’ll reduce never-ending YouTube ads, this extension and app might be right for you.

AdLock overview

4.8

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On AdLock's website

Ad Blocker

AdLock

• Offers a free extension that's compatible with major browsers and a premium plan with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS compatibility
• Effective blocker against follow-along videos, banner ads, YouTube ads, and more
• Doesn't share or sell your data with third parties
• Social media and spyware blockers only available on paid tier

Our experience

AdLock’s website isn’t too fancy or overly sales-y. It took a little poking around before we found out we had to install the browser extension if we wanted to test the free product. This was after clicking around on download links trying to find out which product was best for us. Maybe a little more sales language would have helped.

Also, when we clicked the Windows download, we got a 404 message. This is probably because we hadn’t purchased a license yet.

Once we installed the extension, it was pretty fun to test. We went to YouTube first, then pulled up some popular blogs. Below, the window on the left is Microsoft Edge running without AdLock and the window on the right is Chrome running with AdLock. Notice the difference in ads.

The Edge browser had an ad just below the featured recipes, while the Chrome browser with AdLock took us straight to the featured video. Since The Pioneer Woman’s website didn’t have video follow-along ads, we went to a site that does.

Sam Turnbull’s popular vegan recipe site, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, is less cluttered with ads than other recipe blogs, but still has follow-along videos that chased us down the page on our Edge browser. Notice how they aren’t there on Chrome, which was protected with AdLock. (In fact, AdLock is one of the best ad blockers for Chrome.)

The only feature that didn’t really work for us was pop-up blocking. This may have been because they were newsletter follow requests, but AdLock’s homepage says it blocks pop-ups. You can see we received the newsletter request on both browsers — Edge, which wasn’t running AdLock, and Chrome, which was running it. 

While this may not be the biggest issue, phishing attempts, malware, and general online privacy concerns can all be an issue when entering your information into the wrong pop-up.

The good part is that the banner ad present in the Edge browser wasn’t there in the Chrome browser. So while we were hijacked for a second by the newsletter pop-up, AdLock still worked on removing the banner ad.

AdLock paid plan

AdLock offers free browser extensions for Safari, Firefox and Chrome, but all the other accessibility options are through paid plans. 

The payment options are monthly, yearly, or five devices for five years. This plan is particularly useful if you have multiple computers and mobile devices you’d like to protect. 

• 1 month/5 devices: $3.50/mo
• 1 year/5 devices: $2.80/mo
• 5 years/5 devices: $1.05/mo

Overall, the yearly and five-year plans have the most value and are definitely worthwhile considering the extra protection you’re receiving.

The free plan can block ads, but not all ads and it can't block ads in apps either.

The paid plans promise no forced whitelisting, no tracking, a 30-day money-back guarantee, and 24/7 support. All payment options include the same features and are only different depending on what type of subscription you want.

AdLock only accepts Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal; it has no options for other forms of payment like other credit card issuers and cryptocurrency.

Main features

Like most ad blockers, AdLock has features to block ads and trackers. It also has unique features like filters for languages and social media widgets. 

We'll break down AdLock's features below.

Ad blocker

AdLock’s browser extension gave us an easy view of what ads were blocked on the individual webpage and how many have been blocked overall. 

But unlike other products, AdLock functions only within your system, which means it isn’t outsourcing your requests. You can easily toggle the ad-blocking software off or on depending on the site you’re visiting. 

If you open the app, AdLock will also list out the number of blocked requests and the amount of saved traffic from using the app. For more details, you can click through the Ads reports tab, which breaks down ads blocked by app and domain, or Adblocking statistics, which provide detailed information on blocked commercial content. 

Protection

On the app you'll find the Protection tab, which is where you can keep taps on AdLock's anti-tracking and anti-phishing features. 

AdLock can hide your online presence and personal data from advertisers as well as protect you from phishing, scammers, and malware. All you need to do is turn the toggles on from this tab. 

You can also select Protection statistics for detailed information on blocked trackers, suspicious requests, and intrusion attempts.

Ad filters

If you go to AdLock's settings, you'll find a list of filters for various purposes. There's a spyware filter to help stop websites from tracking your activity, a social media filter to protect your from social media tracking, and annoyances filter to block site elements like online chats and notifications.

AdLock also provides filters for multiple languages to block ads on international websites. 

Unfortunately, the spyware filter and social media filter are only included with the paid tier.

Allowlist

With allowlist, you can distinguish that your favorite creator sites or other sites should run only without an ad blocker. This is also known as whitelisting. 

If you want to make sure your favorite creators get credit for their work, you can easily toggle off the blocker so they receive the ad revenue.

AdLock's test results

A product can tell you all day it’s good, but is it actually? Third-party sites like AdBlock Tester, Cover Your Tracks, and Can You Block It? put those claims to the test.

Adblock Tester checks a variety of different ways that ads can be displayed to see how your ad blocker performs. Overall, the AdLock app and browser extension did pretty well with blocking ads. It only failed the sentry tests, which are used to track and measure errors on websites, so it's only a minor issue.

AdLock scores

Cover Your Tracks checks tracking ads and your digital fingerprint to see if you’re browsing anonymously. The more unique your fingerprint, the easier it is to connect information from tracking ads to you. 

AdLock was successful at blocking tracking ads and invisible trackers. Our fingerprint was listed as nearly-unique, so it wasn't a perfect score, but we've found that most of the ad blockers we test score similarly.  

Finally, Can You Block It? tests ad blockers against self-hosted ads, including banner ads, interstitial ads, and ad blocker detection warnings. AdLock could only block banner ads and ad blocker detection warnings, though.

The interstitial ad appeared, but AdLock blocked the content of the ad, so it was just a blank page with text. We're glad AdLock blocked the bulk of the ad but were annoyed we still had to deal with it rather than going straight to the pge. 

YouTube ad test

AdLock blocked YouTube ads seamlessly and with no lag. We tested this by watching a video from Enes Yilmazer’s popular real estate channel, which is always inundated with ads. 

The nearly 20-minute video never tried to load video ads before or during viewing, and there were no page-loading issues. AdLock even gave us a breakdown of how many ads it blocked on the site.

Just remember that channels like Yilmazer’s run ads specifically to pay the creator for their time and effort. If you have favorite content creators, disabling your ad blocker will allow them to receive revenue from ads. A lot of work goes into content creation, so choosing to see a few ads in return for the value you receive is definitely worth it.

Bypassing paywalls test

We're on the hunt to find an ad blocker that can tackle paywalls. It can be frustrating when an article grabs your attention, only to be blocked from reading it when you click through.

Unfortunately, AdLock doesn't include bypassing paywalls with its arsenal of features. We checked The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Atlantic, but all three sites prompted us to sign up for a subscription.

What browser and software is it compatible with?

AdLock has two different types of products. The first is the free version for Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers, which block ads when you're using your browser. The second is a paid version for operating systems. The paid version increases privacy across your machine. But don’t sleep on the free browser extension; it’s pretty powerful, proven by our test results.

The ad-blocking apps can be found in the Apple App Store or at the links below.

Browser extensions/add-ons:

• Google Chrome
• Safari
• Mozilla Firefox

Operating system apps:

• Android
• iOS
• Windows
• macOS

AdLock privacy policy

Reviewing the privacy policy for products you use is important to make sure your data isn't shared or sold. We were pleased that AdLock "doesn't sell or share [usage information] with third parties."

It mentions collecting anonymous usage information, like browser language and number of blocked ad requests, but it's not sold or shared with third parties. All AdLock extension users will receive a unique ID that's assigned anonymously upon installation. It'll be stored on AdLock's servers until you uninstall the extension from your device.

The privacy policy also breaks down how your data is used by third parties for analytics, handling payments, hosting and backend infrastructure, and other uses. Although your email may be used for promotional and informational purposes, you do have the option to opt out.

Overall, we liked how easy to read AdLock's privacy policy is and we feel good about its data usage. 

How to use AdLock

To set up AdLock, you'll need to decide if you wish to use the AdLock app or browser extension (or both). Once you've selected your preferred software, you can visit the AdLock site to download. 

AdLock provides a 14-day trial for free users to test AdLock Premium. You can also take advantage of its 30-day money-back guarantee.

Once you've settled on AdLock, here's how to use it:

1. Open the AdLock extension.
2. Turn on the Block ads on this page toggle. 

And that's it! For Premium subscriptions with the app, here's what you need to do:

1. Install the AdLock app onto your desktop or phone.
2. Select Activation from the lefthand side bar.
3. Enter the nine-digit Activation code provided to you upon purchasing the subscription and hit Submit.
   

   

4. Once your subscription is activated, you can select Ad blocking or any of the other tabs to toggle on AdLock's features.

Top alternatives

AdLock has some handy features and impressive test scores, but it's not the only ad blocker on the market. Here are some of our top picks if you're not sold on AdLock:

		Threat Protection	CleanWeb
Best For	Best for blocking YouTube ads	Best overall	Best for blocking streaming ads
Price	Starts at $1.59/mo (billed annually)	Starts at $3.99/mo (billed every two years)	Starts at $2.19/mo (billed biennially)
Free version?
Adblock Tester score	100/100	93/100	96/100
Cover Your Tracks score	2/3	2/3	0.5/3
Can You Block It score	3/3	N/A	3/3
Blocks YouTube ads?
Compatibility	Windows, Mac, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Amazon Fire, Safari, Android, iOS	Threat Protection: Windows, macOS Threat Protection Lite: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, FireTV
Learn more	Get Total Adblock	Get NordVPN Threat Protection	Get Surfshark CleanWeb

AdLock FAQs

Bottom line: Is AdLock a good ad blocker?

AdLock really is a good ad blocker. Not only does it block out most ads with just the free browser extension, but it also respects your privacy. 

If you want increased protection, such as from data-mining social media sites, AdLock has you covered with its paid tier. While we still got a pop-up or two, AdLock really delivered on its promise.

AdLock is definitely worth your time and maybe even your money. This is one of those products that’s so good, we’ve considered paying for it. If you’ve been shopping for a powerful ad blocker that delivers without sacrificing your data, we suggest giving it a try.

4.8

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On AdLock's website

Ad Blocker

AdLock

• Offers a free extension that's compatible with major browsers and a premium plan with Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS compatibility
• Effective blocker against follow-along videos, banner ads, YouTube ads, and more
• Doesn't share or sell your data with third parties
• Social media and spyware blockers only available on paid tier

Author Details

Mary James

About the Author

Mary is a seasoned cybersecurity writer with over seven years of experience. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University, she educates audiences on scams, antivirus software, and more. Her passion lies in educating audiences on helpful ways to protect their data.

Steph Trejos