How To Block And Unblock Pop-Ups On Any Device
As soon as you go online, you will face several distractions, including pop-ups. A pop-up is a tiny window that can open when you land on a website or click a link. Pop-ups can appear on various sites associated with shopping or discounts and on your device, regardless of your browser. Let us discuss how you can disable pop-ups on any device through Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge. Furthermore, this article also includes information on allowing pop-ups, regardless of the browser or device, as there might be instances when this is required.
How to Block Or Unblock Pop-Ups On Chrome
On A Computer
On your laptop/desktop, open a Chrome browser. Next:
- At the top right of the browser, click the ‘More’ symbol and find the option for ‘Settings’.
- Within this option, find the ‘Privacy and Security’ heading.
- Then, click on another sub-section called ‘Site Settings’.
- From here, click ‘Pop-Ups and Redirects.’ Within this section, you can set a default setting that allows sites to send pop-ups or redirects or blocks it.
Alternatively, if you want only to block or enable specific pop-ups or redirects, you must follow all of the above steps until ‘Pop-Ups and Redirects.’ Then if you want to disable particular pop-ups and redirects from sites, go to:
- The section called ‘Customised Behaviours’ and then add sites to the section called ‘Not allowed to send pop-ups or use re-directs.’ If you no longer want these sites in this list, remove them.
On the other hand, if you want to allow specific pop-ups or redirects, you also need to go to the ‘Customised Behaviours’ section and:
- Add the particular sites to ‘Allowed to send pop-ups or use re-directs.’
If you continue getting messages from a site after disabling pop-ups, you might be subscribed to notifications for a particular website.
To remove notifications for a site, open this specific site on a Chrome browser. Then, click the ‘lock’ icon on the left of the website URL. You can then see whether notifications are currently on as the toggle will display a blue colour. To change this and not receive notifications for a site, uncheck the toggle so that it now becomes grey.
On An Android Device
If you have a Google Chrome app on your Android device, you can allow pop-ups by going to the right side of the address bar. Then:
- Click the ‘More’ icon and opt for ‘Settings’.
- Next, click ‘site settings’ and ‘Pop-Ups and Redirects’.
- Lastly, choose to check the toggle, so it turns blue to allow pop-ups and redirects. If you want to block pop-ups, uncheck the toggle, so it turns grey.
But, if you want to block notifications from a specific site on your Android device, go to the relevant website on Chrome, click the ‘lock’ icon, and select permissions.
Then, choose the settings you want to change if presented with a menu. If there is no menu option, you can presume that the required permissions are in their original settings.
On An iPhone and iPad
To turn off pop-ups, go to the Chrome app and click the ‘More’ icon. Next, go to ‘Settings.’ Then, go for ‘Content Settings’ and choose the sub-section ‘Block pop-ups.’ To start blocking pop-ups, turn the slider on. To turn pop-ups on, turn the slider off.
How To Unblock Or Block Pop-Ups On Firefox
In the first instance, you need to ascertain whether a pop-up is coming from Firefox. This will happen if the address bar contains the tracking protection and site identity buttons. A Firefox browser or app can automatically block pop-ups by default, meaning you do not have to manually prevent pop-ups from appearing.
You can enable pop-ups for some websites while blocking others. Do this by:
- Clicking the ‘menu’ button on the Firefox browser or app and then choosing the ‘Settings’ option.
- Then, scroll down, click the ‘Privacy and Security Panel,’ and choose the ‘Permissions’ sub-heading.
- Next, you will see a box next to the ‘Block pop-ups’ window. Again, you can tick to block pop-ups or untick to allow them.
If you choose to turn pop-ups off, you also have the option to state which websites are allowed to display pop-ups by clicking on the ‘Exceptions’ button near this section. When you click on this button, it will open a box that will allow you to add an address of a website and then click ‘allow.’ Remember to ‘save changes’ as a final step. You also have the option to remove a website or all websites from this exceptions list at a later time.
How To Block Or Unblock Pop-Ups On Safari
On A Mac
Start your Mac’s blocking and/or unblocking process by opening a Safari browser. Then:
- Go to ‘Settings’ or ‘Preferences’ within the main menu bar.
- Once you open this window, click ‘websites,’ find ‘pop-up windows’ in the left-hand menu, and click on it.
- Another window called ‘Allow pop–up windows on the websites below’ will appear. You will have a list of ‘Currently open websites’ and ‘configured websites’ on this window. Then in the menu for each website, within either of these sections, you have an option to:
- Allow pop-ups for the website.
- Disable pop-ups for a website.
- Block and notify, which would allow you to opt to see the blocked pop-ups on this website.
You can also block and notify other websites not already on this list. Lastly, any configured websites can be removed by clicking on the ‘remove’ button at the bottom of this window so that you can change the settings for these sites.
On an iPhone Or iPad
On any of these two devices, go to your ‘Settings’ icon and scroll down until you find the ‘Safari’ option. Then, use the toggle to block or allow pop-ups on Safari or an iPad, or iPhone.
How To Block And Unblock Pop-Ups On A Mac
On Chrome
To turn on or turn off pop-ups on Chrome on a Mac, go to ‘Settings’ using a Chrome browser. Then, select ‘Privacy and Security’ and then ‘Site Settings.’ Lastly, choose the option for ‘Pop-Ups and Redirects.’Finally, you can allow or block Chrome pop-ups on a Mac. If you want to allow pop-ups for a specific site, select ‘Add the website’ to ‘Allowed to send pop-ups and redirects’.
On Firefox
Begin by clicking the main menu and then opt for ‘Settings.’ Next, choose ‘Privacy and Security’ in the side menu and find the ‘Permissions’ section. You can then check (to block pop-ups) or uncheck (to allow pop-ups) within the ‘Block Pop-Up Windows’ box.
You can also click on a box next to this window called ‘Exceptions.’ For example, if you want to allow pop-ups on some websites, add the website to this section.
How To Block And Unblock Pop-Ups On Windows Internet Explorer/ Microsoft Edge
As Microsoft are no longer offering support for Internet Explorer 11 since June 15, 2022, they have recommended that you use Microsoft Edge instead. First, however, we will outline how you can turn on and turn off pop-ups for both Microsoft browsers to make this guide as informative as possible.
Allow/Block Pop-Ups On Internet Explorer 11 On All Devices
Once you open the Internet Explorer browser, opt for the ‘Tools’ icon (it looks like a gear in the upper right corner). Then, once you click on that, select ‘Internet Options.’ Next, click on the ‘Privacy’ tab.
Within this tab, you will find a section called ‘Pop-up blocker.’ You must tick the box within this section called ‘Turn on pop-up blocker’ to block pop-ups. You can leave it unticked to allow pop-ups. After ticking or unticking, you can press apply.
Additionally, if you want to block all pop-ups, go to the ‘Pop-up blocker’ section, select ‘Settings,’ and under ‘Blocking level,’ set it to ‘High: Block all pop-ups.’ Furthermore, you can also opt out of notifications when pop-ups are blocked by not ticking the box ‘Show notification bar when a pop-up is blocked’ within the ‘Pop-up Blocker settings’.
How To Disable And Enable Microsoft Edge Pop-Ups On All Devices
After opening a Microsoft Edge Browser, you need to click on the three dots at the far right-hand side of the browser, which is the user menu. Then, select ‘Settings,’ which will open in a new tab.
Next, opt for the sub-heading, ‘Cookies and site permissions.’ Next, go for ‘Site Permissions’ and ‘Pop-ups and redirects.’ To block all pop-ups, you can toggle the ‘Block (recommended) option to ‘on’.
But if you only want to block some sites, add it to the ‘Block’ section and keep the toggle off. Alternatively, add the website to the ‘Allow’ section and keep the toggle off if you want to allow some pop-ups.
While many consider pop-ups one of the worst features of the Internet, many websites can use pop-ups for legitimate reasons. For instance, companies may use pop-ups as a subscription or a payment screen, and if you have pop-ups blocked automatically, this can affect your user experience. This is why our guide is so helpful in allowing you to enable pop-ups you do need and disabling the ones you do not.
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