Advertisements have become a major problem on the internet, and it’s no surprise that many are seeking a solution to this problem. Websites increasingly rely on ads and have focused on monetization over content. It’s now common to find websites with more ads than content, making navigation annoying.
Many people think excessive ads are an inescapable part of the internet, but that’s false. A straightforward solution to this problem is an ad-blocker, a software tool that detects and thwarts ads at their source. The Stands Free AdBlocker is one of the best such tools, and we’re reviewing it to help you decide whether it’s worth adopting. This review will cover its features, pricing, user-friendliness, customer support, and other vital aspects.
Stands Free AdBlocker: Plans and Pricing
The name of this tool already hints that you don’t need to pay to use it. The Stands Free AdBlocker is free to download and use, which is its main selling point. Unlike many rivals, this ad blocker is supported by user donations.
The Stands Free AdBlocker works as a browser extension or Android-only mobile app. With either option, you can enjoy free ad blocking.
Stands Free Adblocker: Features
Downloading and installing the Stands Free AdBlocker is noticeably easy. Head to the official website, select your browser, click the download button, and you’re ready. Alternatively, you can search for “Stands Free Adblocker” on your relevant browser extension store and download it there. Stands offers Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Vivaldi, and Brave extensions. There’s also an Android app but no iOS app.
We installed the extension for this review, and it was conveniently added to our browser toolbar. To start, we checked Forbes.com to see how many ads the extension would block. Forbes.com is known for serving many ads and true to form, the Stands AdBlocker blocked 22 elements on the web page. We liked that the extension gave details about the number of elements blocked on each page, making it easy to verify that it’s performing its work.
You’ll see a similar report as above when you visit any website with the Stands AdBlocker activated. Simply click the icon on your toolbar, and you can see this report.
If you find any element that Stands AdBlocker can’t block, you can click the + Block Element button and click on the element you want to block. For example, here’s the Forbes.com homepage at the time of our review:
Below is the homepage after we blocked several elements. What’s the difference? removed several images and text from the homepage. This feature lets you remove any element you’re uncomfortable with and continue surfing a website as usual.
The Stands AdBlocker gives you considerable control over your ad-blocking settings. You might have some trusted websites you want to keep showing ads, e.g., your local news site. In that case, you can add the domain to your list of whitelisted sites, and Stands AdBlocker won’t block ads on it. It’ll keep blocking ads on other domains, but the whitelisted domains are off-limits. This feature is helpful when you have some trusted news sites you want to support by allowing them to keep showing ads.
This ad-blocker also lets you exempt specific domains from popup-blocking. Any domain you add to the “Popup allowed sites” list can keep showing you popups, unlike other websites where the ad-blocker detects and blocks annoying popups.
The Stands AdBlocker doesn’t just block display ads and popups. It also blocks sophisticated ads, such as Facebook Ads, Search ads, Webmail ads, and Sponsored Links. You can control what the extension should block and what it shouldn’t, and the same goes for the Android app.
This ad blocker offers a “Fair Ads” program that lets you show ads on select sites that have agreed to adhere to strict standards of displaying ads professionally. However, unlike other ad blockers, this feature is optional and switched off by default.
Stands Free AdBlocker: Interface and In-Use
The Stands AdBlocker has a neat interface that’s easy to navigate. Everything from download to installation to continuous use is seamless. The interface employs sufficient color contrast and well-spaced elements that enable easy navigation. You can easily find any feature you want and change your configurations.
The drawback we observed in this area is that the Stands AdBlocker lacks an iOS app even though it has an Android app.
Stands Free AdBlocker: Customer Support
The Stands AdBlocker provides significant support resources despite being a free tool. When facing issues, you can contact a dedicated support email for help. You can also send bug reports, such as incorrect blocking, for the developers to fix.
The official website has a FAQ section that contains detailed answers to common questions. You can use this FAQ section to troubleshoot the app when facing any issues. Stands AdBlocker is a free tool, meaning users aren’t entitled to support, but the developers go a long way in helping users solve their problems.
Stands Free AdBlocker: The Competition
There’s no shortage of competition in the ad blocker software sector. Two competitors we’d like to highlight are uBlock Origin and Ghostery. These are free ad blockers that provide features similar to the Stands AdBlocker.
The Stands AdBlocker shines above these rivals by having an Android app, which you’ll rarely find in a free ad-blocking tool. Apart from the app, the Stands AdBlocker isn’t much different than uBlock Origin and Ghostery.
Stands Free AdBlocker: Final Verdict
We can confidently recommend the Stands AdBlocker to anyone seeking a tool to improve their browsing experience. This tool blocks ads effectively and without charging users a dime, with a user-friendly interface that makes navigation easy. We only found a few drawbacks, such as the lack of an iOS app, but the advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages.