Change Chrome’s Ad privacy settings to stop targeted advertising

Google Chrome will now help you to prevent advertisers from using browsing data to target you with advertisements.

Google Chrome Ad privacy settings
Google Chrome Ad privacy settings
  • To disable targeted ads on Chrome, open Settings > Privacy and security > Ad privacy > Ad topics, and turn off “Ad topics.”
  • On the “Ad privacy” page, click “Site-suggested ads” and turn off the feature. Also, on “Ad measurement,” turn off the feature to minimize targeted advertising based on your online activities.

On Google Chrome (version 116 and higher releases), the browser now ships with new privacy settings to control targeted advertisements you see while browsing the web, and in this guide, you will learn the steps to change these settings.

Although advertising is necessary to maintain content and services on the internet free of charge, they are also one of the most frustrating aspects of the web. However, starting on version 116, Chrome introduces a new “Ad privacy” section in the “Privacy and security” settings to make it a bit easier to increase your online privacy by controlling the information you share with advertisers to personalize your advertising experience.

In this guide, I’ll teach you the steps to disable targeted advertising to control privacy on Google Chrome.

Disable targeted advertising settings on Chrome

To disable targeted ads to increase your privacy on Chrome, use these steps:

  1. Open Chrome on Windows 11.

  2. Click the Customize and Control (three-dotted) button on the top-right corner.

  3. Select the Settings option.

  4. Click on Privacy and security.

  5. Under the “Privacy and security” section, click the “Ad privacy” setting.

    Chrome Ad privacy settings

  6. Click the “Ad topics” setting.

    Chrome Ad topics

  7. Turn off the “Ad topics” toggle switch to prevent advertisers and online companies from accessing the topics of interest based on browsing activities to personalize advertisements.

    Chrome disable Ad topics

    Quick tip: If you leave the feature enabled, you can use this setting to block specific topics.
  8. Click the “Site-suggested ads” setting from the “Ad privacy” page.

  9. Turn off the “Site-suggested ads” toggle switch to prevent advertisers and online companies from determining your liking to suggest advertisements based on the websites you visit.

    Chrome disable Site-suggested ads

    Quick note: This setting also offers the option to control sites you want to share with other companies without turning off the feature.
  10. Click the “Ad measurement” setting from the “Ad privacy” page.

  11. Turn off the “Ad measurement” toggle switch to prevent advertisers and online companies from tracking how you interact with advertisements on your browser.

    Chrome disable Ad measurement

Once you complete the steps, you will continue to receive advertisements when browsing the web, but they won’t be targeted based on your online activities.

It’s important to note that Google is rolling out this feature gradually, and it may take some time for everyone to get it.

Also, these settings are for Google Chrome only on a specific device, and they won’t affect the advertisement settings from your Google account. If you want to change the advertisement settings on your account, you have to access the “Data & privacy” settings on your Google account.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].