If Gmail's ads—especially the new, experimental image ads—are annoying you but you don't want to go all out and install a sledgehammer ad blocker like AdBlock Plus, here are a few ways to keep Gmail ads from infiltrating your inbox.
This morning, I woke up and I checked my email (do as I say, not as I do, folks). Upon opening a message, I saw a new image-based ad in Gmail's sidebar—something Google has long rallied against. Apparently, they've been
testing image ads in Gmail for the past year, this
latest iteration showing up for the first time this summer. Like the banner ads in Hotmail and other clients, you can close them, but they'll likely come back later—and while I'm not big on ad blocking, I'd rather not have banner ads in my emails. Here's how to block ads in Gmail without installing an internet-wide adblocker.
Hide Ads (and Do Much More) with Minimalist for Everything
My favorite method of hiding ads from Gmail is using the Minimalist for Everything Chrome extension (Firefox users will have to skip to the next section; there is sadly no equivalent for Firefox). It's a full-featured Gmail tweaker, letting you add row highlights, hide the chat sidebar, change the Google links at the top of the page, and (of course) hide Gmail's ads. If you're a Gmail user and don't have this installed, you should grab it right now—it has some really powerful features, not the least of which is getting rid of pesky ads.
Hide Only Ads with a User Script or Browser Extension
If you're a Firefox user (or if you don't want a full Gmail tweaker just to hide ads), you have quite a few choices. The
Remove/Hide Gmail Ads user script should work in both Firefox and Chrome without requiring you to install an entire extension. It'll hide ads all along the side and top of your messages, without getting rid of Gmail's new contact info. So, you won't be able to save any of that white space, but at least everything will look a little less cluttered.
Alternatively, you can install the Ad-Blocker for Gmail Chrome extension, or the Gmail Ad Remover extension for Firefox. Both do exactly the same thing as the user script, but they're handy to know about in case the developer of the user script stops updating it.
Turn Off Web Clips in the Inbox
If the ads in messages don't bother you but the "Web Clips" along the top of your inbox do, there's actually a way to turn them off right in Gmail's settings. Just head to Gmail's
Settings > Web Clips and uncheck the "Show My Web Clips" box. That'll at least keep your inbox view a little cleaner, without having to install any extensions or user scripts. Plus, it works in literally
any browser, which is convenient for those using less popular ones.
Of course, if you want to block ads elsewhere on the net, you can always install something like Adblock Plus, which should hide most, if not all of Gmail's ads (you might need the Element Hiding Helper to remove a few stray ads). Not only will this hide ads all over the net, but you can also use it to block malware, which is a nice plus. It will slow down your browser more than the above options, though. And, as always, we humbly ask you to whitelist our site and any other sites you regularly visit—our ads are, after all, how we tech bloggers make a living.
