Protect Your Online Privacy with Ghostery Chrome Extension
Understanding the Importance of Browser Extensions
As we navigate the digital world, browser extensions play a vital role in enhancing our online experience. They provide us with features that go beyond the basic functionality of a browser, allowing us to customize our online activities to our specific needs. One such extension that has become increasingly important is the ad blocker. By blocking unwanted ads and trackers, these extensions not only enhance our browsing experience but also protect our privacy.
Introducing Ghostery: The Powerful Privacy Extension
One such extension that stands out for its efficacy is Ghostery, an ad blocker that offers safe, fast, and clutter-free browsing. With over 100 million downloads worldwide, Ghostery provides full ad-blocking functionality, stops trackers from accessing personal data, and eliminates annoying cookie consent pop-ups.
Main Goals of Ghostery
The main goals of Ghostery are threefold:
- Ad-Blocking: Ghostery blocks all ads on websites you visit with your Chrome browser. This feature extends to popular platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook, helping you focus on the important information.
- Anti-Tracking: Ghostery stops trackers' ability to collect your personal data. Instead, it replaces your data with random values, effectively anonymizing your identity. The option to unblock individual trackers is also available.
- Never-Consent: Ghostery automatically removes intrusive cookie pop-ups, sending a clear message to website owners about your preference not to be tracked. This function adds convenience to your browsing experience, acting as your advocate for privacy.
In addition to these core functionalities, Ghostery also offers unique features, such as providing tracker information on any website you visit, offering a preview of trackers on search engine result pages, and maintaining the largest database of trackers, WhoTracks.Me. Moreover, it is an open-source extension and is free to use.
While Ghostery's core features are free for all, the option to become a contributor is also available. Contributors gain access to extension themes, priority support, and historical statistics. They also help fund the development of the Privacy Suite and WhoTracks.Me.
Installation and Setup
Step-by-step guide on how to install the extension
Installing the Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker extension is a simple and straightforward process:
- Go to the Chrome Web Store and search for Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker.
- Click on the Add to Chrome button.
- A pop-up window will appear to confirm the new extension. Click on Add extension.
- Once installed, the Ghostery icon will appear to the right of the address bar in your Google Chrome browser.
Notable settings during the setup process
After installation, Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker doesn't require any additional setup to start blocking ads, stopping trackers, and removing cookie consent pop-ups. However, the extension does offer customizable settings for advanced users:
- Allowing Individual Trackers: If you want to allow specific trackers, you can do this in the extension settings.
- Themes: Contribute to Ghostery to access and customize your extension with different themes.
Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker extension is primarily compatible with the Google Chrome browser. However, it also works with other browsers that support Chrome extensions, like Microsoft Edge and Opera. For mobile devices, Ghostery offers a separate application that's available for both Android and iOS platforms. For more information, visit the Ghostery's official website.
Key Features of Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker
Ad-Blocking Feature
The Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker extension empowers you with full ad-blocking functionality. It blocks all ads on websites you browse with your Chrome browser, including popular platforms like Youtube and Facebook. This feature helps you focus solely on the information that matters to you, providing a distraction-free browsing experience.
Anti-Tracking Feature
Ghostery's Anti-Tracking feature defends your personal data against trackers. It replaces your personal data with random values, effectively anonymizing your identity for data brokers. Furthermore, if you see a need to unblock individual trackers, the option is conveniently available.
Never-Consent Feature
The Never-Consent feature automatically removes intrusive cookie consent pop-ups, providing a smoother, hassle-free browsing experience. It also sends a message to website owners, stating your preference not to be tracked. This feature acts as your privacy advocate towards content providers while using Chrome.
Additional Features
- Trackers Information: Ghostery provides information on trackers on any website you visit, including the number, type, and operating company.
- Trackers Preview: This feature displays tracker information even before you visit a page, providing a preemptive shield against potential trackers.
- WhoTracks.Me: Ghostery owns and operates the largest database of trackers, ensuring fast and reliable updates to tracker information for all users.
- One-Click Management: Manage your adblock, anti-tracking, and cookie pop-up removal functions with just a single click.
Enhancing Browsing Experience with Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker
Ghostery's unique features provide a safe, fast, and clutter-free browsing experience. The extension delivers robust online privacy protection with no need for customization and maintenance. It is open source, supported by thousands of contributors worldwide, and is free to use. By becoming a contributor, you can access extension themes, priority support, and historical statistics. Most importantly, your contribution helps fund the development of the Privacy Suite and WhoTracks.Me, the largest database of trackers in the world. Stand with Ghostery in the fight for privacy as a human right!
Security and Privacy
Extension's Security Analysis
Upon analysis, Ghostery shows strong adherence to security standards. The extension's security analysis is broken down into different aspects: manifest.json, content script, permissions, and host permissions. These are ranked from 0 to 10, with 10 indicating the highest potential impact on security.
The ranks for these aspects are:
- Manifest.json rank: 9
- Content script rank: 8
- Permissions rank: 10
- Host permissions rank: 0
The permission 'webNavigation' has been assigned a weight of 3, indicating its relative importance in the security structure.
Potential Security Concerns or Vulnerabilities
Like any software, potential security vulnerabilities could exist within Ghostery. However, stringent security protocols and continuous updates minimize these potential vulnerabilities. It is important to always keep your extension up-to-date to benefit from these security improvements.
Requested Permissions and Their Impact on Security
Ghostery requests several permissions to function optimally. These permissions enhance the user experience and provide the level of security and privacy that Ghostery promises. However, they could potentially impact your security depending on how they are used.
One such permission is 'webNavigation', which allows the extension to track and block website trackers and ads. While this enhances your browsing experience by providing ad-free, fast, and clutter-free browsing, it also requires Ghostery to access your website navigation. This is essential for Ghostery to block the ads and trackers, but it also means that Ghostery has access to all the websites you visit.
However, it is important to note that Ghostery is committed to user privacy and does not misuse this permission. The extension does not collect or sell user data. Instead, it uses this permission to protect your privacy and provide a better browsing experience.
Ghostery's commitment to user security and privacy is evident in its open-source model, which allows for transparency and community involvement in its development and operation. Ghostery is supported by thousands of contributors worldwide and is dedicated to maintaining your privacy as you browse the web.
For additional security, you are given the option to become a contributor. This grants you access to extension themes, priority support, and historical statistics. Ghostery is free to use, but becoming a contributor helps fund the development of the Privacy Suite and WhoTracks.Me, the largest database of trackers in the world.
You can become a contributor and help Ghostery fight for privacy as a human right by visiting the Ghostery website.
User Reviews and Ratings
Checking user reviews is an essential part of understanding the performance and user experience of any product or service. The same applies to Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker. Here's a summary of the feedback and experiences shared by users on the Chrome Web Store.
Reviews on the Chrome Web Store
Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker has received a significant number of reviews on the Chrome Web Store. The reviews are quite varied, with ratings ranging from one to five stars. The overall rating of the extension is an important indicator of its performance and reliability.
User Feedback and Experiences
The feedback and experiences shared by users range from positive to negative. Here are some common sentiments:
- Positive Reviews: Users who rated the Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker highly praised its ability to block ads effectively, its anti-tracking features, and the transparency provided by the WhoTracks.Me database. They opined that the extension greatly enhanced their online privacy and provided a clutter-free browsing experience.
- Negative Reviews: On the other side of the spectrum, users who gave lower ratings mentioned issues with the extension's performance, particularly on YouTube. They reported that ads were not being blocked as expected, which detracted from their overall browsing experience. There were also concerns about the extension's functionality on other platforms like Facebook.
Positive and Negative Reviews
It's important to consider both sides when considering user feedback. While Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker has received numerous positive reviews for its performance and features, there are also users who have faced issues with its functionality. Most of these issues seem to be related to ad-blocking on specific platforms, primarily YouTube.
Despite the negative feedback, Ghostery's developers have been actively working on addressing these issues, as per their responses to user reviews. It's also worth noting that the Ghostery extension is open source, allowing anyone to review its code and contribute to its development.
Comparison of Ghostery with Similar Extensions
Unlike Ghostery, ObservePoint TagDebugger primarily focuses on troubleshooting and auditing analytics tags, variables, and on-click events. While Ghostery provides ad-blocking, anti-tracking, and never-consent features, TagDebugger offers a comprehensive overview of all tags, variables, and events present on a page. Some unique features include the ability to persist logs when navigating from page to page, useful for investigating on-click events and cross-domain tracking, and the option to export data logs.
ScriptBlock, similar to Ghostery, provides control over unwanted content but is more focused on managing JavaScript and iframes. It also attempts to mitigate cross-site scripting attacks and drive-by-downloads. An advantage of ScriptBlock is its compatibility with other extensions, including Ghostery, which means users can benefit from features of both extensions simultaneously.
Whereas Ghostery offers a comprehensive suite of privacy-focused features, the Do Not Track extension is single-minded in its approach, specifically adding the Do Not Track header to all requests. This simple, yet effective, approach aims to opt the user out of tracking by websites they do not visit. Although it lacks the additional functionalities of Ghostery, Do Not Track provides a straightforward and persistent choice to opt out of third-party web tracking.
Key Differentiators and Unique Selling Points
Ghostery
Ghostery stands out for its robust privacy-protection features, including ad-blocking, anti-tracking, and never-consent modules. It offers a detailed overview of trackers on any website you visit and blocks them proactively. Ghostery's unique selling point is its proprietary tracker database, WhoTracks.Me, which provides up-to-date and reliable tracker information to all its users. Additionally, Ghostery is open source and free to use, with options for users to contribute towards the development of its privacy suite.
Recommendations
Based on these comparisons, Ghostery is recommended for users who prioritize comprehensive privacy protection and desire control over ads, trackers, and cookies. ObservePoint TagDebugger is more suited for those who need to troubleshoot and audit analytics and marketing tags. ScriptBlock is useful for users who wish to control JavaScript and iframes, and Do Not Track is ideal for users seeking a straightforward solution to opt out of third-party tracking.
Conclusion
Overall Strengths and Weaknesses of the Extension
Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker is a robust and reliable addition to any Chrome browser. Its strengths lie in its ability to block ads, stop trackers, and speed up websites. It offers an out-of-the-box solution for users, negating the need for extensive customization and maintenance.
The extension also includes a comprehensive range of features such as tracker information on websites, a preview function on search engines, and a one-click management system for its core services. Furthermore, Ghostery's WhoTracks.Me feature offers fast and reliable updates on tracker information for all users.
However, the extension's open-source nature could be perceived as a weakness. While it allows for a broad base of contributors, it also opens up potential security risks. Despite this, Ghostery has a strong track record with over 100+ million downloads worldwide.
Final Verdict
The Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker is undoubtedly worth trying. Its comprehensive features and ease of use make it an attractive choice for users, and its open-source nature further cements its credibility. The extension offers a unique browsing experience that is safe, fast, and clutter-free.
Additional Tips or Recommendations for Users
- Make use of the tracker information to be mindful of the websites you visit and the data they potentially collect.
- Use the WhoTracks.Me feature for real-time updates on tracker information.
- Consider becoming a contributor to access additional features and support the ongoing development of the extension.
Ultimately, Ghostery delivers on its promise of a safe, fast, and clutter-free browsing experience while prioritizing user privacy.
30 Reviews For This Extension
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Doesn't block ads on YT since last update. Eventually they sold us.
Does not work anymore has not worked on chromium browsers for at least 2 weeks now. Hope devs are not done with this project.
No longer works. I can no longer block ads from appearing on any site that uses google ads. Even when it claims its blocked 50+ trackers and I manually confirm they are blocked the page still reloads with ads showing.
works exactly how i expected. been using this extension for .. idk, years. the reason i stopped by was to see if there is an update, because ive been seeing ads on yt for the past several days (chomebook chrome browser). i see that there was a recent update on March 9, which coincides with when i started seeing ads. my suspicion is that the last update broke Ghostery. or perhaps its something on the youtube side, although, ive also been seeing ads and popups on a few other sites as well, so i lean toward it being a Ghostery issue wanted to let someone know so hopefully can be repaired soon. great product, team
Why is it keep saying Your Offline, Check your Internet connection while the connection was working fine on Youtube & Still seeing Ads on Youtube once as well.
Seems to not work anymore on youtube ads...I've tried both adblock plus and this and ads still appear...
not working but is still some what good on some vids?
the best ad blocker I have tried many and they all give you surprises like not telling you there's a 7 day trial then without you knowing stop blocking your ads but there's no surprises here Ghostery Tracker Ad Blocker they are what they say they are and from my understanding its free! the best ad blocker i have tried in 2024 i recommend it i love watching movies on sites like 123movies and half of the sites have phonographic pop ups and when i try to click it off my screen it would redirect me but there's no pop-ups now just my movie :) BEST. AD. BLOCKER. EVER.
i love this adblocker. it blocks so many ads (popups, video ads, banner ads, etc.) i love it almost as much as i love wingstop
I'll be the first to tell the real truth, it doesn't work, I'm still getting "Ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service" from YouTube, I'm terribly sorry that you didn't put a section where we can upload some images to you can get an idea as a whole while we give our opinion about this extension, until the people from yt changed their policy it worked perfectly and blocked ads even on facebook, but now it doesn't have much power and I don't understand why as potential is, I always mixed these two extensions, ublock origin + ghostery and they worked perfectly, one last observation is that when I click on the extension there are 3 icons and the first circle next to that shield I have to deactivate it to be able to forget about yt but instead I have to put up with the ads on facebook, why won't they let me activate all three because it is immediately detected, I hope you fix this and I would ask you, as I said a bit above, attach a button where we can upload images in the comments section so that this will help you more in the future, thank you.
Amazing extension. Block all ads and pop-ups. Can make exemptions to websites. Can block additional items with click of your mouse too.
I've used Ghostery for many years, and it seems to have worked. Recently I've noticed that my Carbonite offsite storage account has been using up its allocation, and now it is full. On inspection I see that it had backed up 70GB, yes, that much, just from the Chrome Ghostery folder under User\...\AppData\Local. OK, only 1.2GB on my hard drive, but as Carbonite keeps updated copies for 60 days quite a few of those must have been updated multiple times. Has something changed over the last, say 1-2 months with the way Ghostery works? If so, please fix it. All the files seem to be *.ldb files, which I think are Locking files, so file locking is getting switched on and off repeatedly, and a lock file is repeatedly being opened and closed. Thanks. 3 stars until fixed!
started seeing ads on youtube if this isnt fixed im gonna try a new extension
why am i suddenly seeing ads on every site including YouTube are you guys going to fix it or should i move to another extension
As of Saturday 27JAN2024, I am seeing YouTube ads again. My version is 8.12.6, found in the Chrome Webstore.
I've used Ghostery for many years and have always enjoyed it. Before Ghostery I also used/tried AdBlock and AdBlock Plus. Before that I customized my own hosts file. The Ad Blocker feature works perfectly, I've never seen any ads after installing Ghostery. Anti-Tracking I don't believe you can really "see" its effects, it works in the background. Never-Consent is amazing at removing all the cookie pop-ups you get these days. I still see one occasionally per browsing session but it depends on the website. It is also open source and available on GitHub to view and contribute to. Edit 2/4/24 For all the people seeing ads on YouTube, you have to set "Allow Ghostery in Incognito". Then open YouTube in an incognito window. Works for me 100% of the time.
Awhile back I switched from Privacy Badger (the Electronic Frontier Foundation [or EFF]'s extension) to Ghostery after the EFF's own "Cover Your Tracks" website (which tests, among other things, whether or not your browser is leaving a unique "fingerprint" as you browse the web, which is used by data brokers and other businesses to track you via a process known as "fingerprinting." Companies build a "fingerprint" of your computer/browser combo - even if you've opted out of all forms of tracking and are blocking third-party cookies and/or are using a traditional ad blocking extension - by gathering and analyzing data re: the way your computer's hardware and web browser display data to you as you surf the web. The vast majority of computers - even two that have the same exact hardware spec - can leave a unique fingerprint based on small quirks/differences in the way the hardware in your machine interacts with your network connection and web browser software (i.e. your web browser) interacts with that network connection. Two machines with the exact same hardware may respond to network requests with slightly different cadences, and that gives potential bad actors one key piece of data with which they can start to build a profile on you so that they can track you even when you've done everything you can to maintain your privacy (be that preventing them from leaving tracking cookies on your machine, using a VPN to mask your true location, etc...). I was stunned to find that after installing Ghostery, my browser *no longer left a unique fingerprint* in the EFF's own "Cover Your Tracks" web test at https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/. Not only does Ghostery help block inline and pop-up ads on the sites I most commonly visit, it even helps prevent browser fingerprinting! I couldn't tell you *how* it does that, but in my experience, the proof is in the pudding, and when the Ghostery extension prevented the EFF's own fingerprinting test from seeing a unique fingerprint coming from my machine (when their OWN tool designed to prevent that from happening failed!) it's hard not to feel like Ghostery is an essential tool in your privacy toolbox. I could not recommend Ghostery more. Not only is it 100% free (and OPEN SOURCE, which is huge as it allows independent developers like myself full access to view the extension's code and ensure that the app's developers stay on the straight and narrow), but it does what it says it does incredibly well. If you (and your family's) online privacy matters to you, get Ghostery, turn it on, and know that you've added one of the best, most effective tools for achieving and maintaining that privacy on an ever-more-invasive web... all for the low, low price of FREE!
Ghostery is the best ad blocker, whether you use its extension or switch to its own hardened browser, it can enhance your privacy and browsing experience. It not only blocks ads, but also prevents data collection and profiling by ad networks. It also has a great feature that automatically responds to cookie privacy prompts, saving my time and energy. Benefits of using Ghostery: One of the main benefits of using Ghostery's ad blocker is that it prevents targeted ads from appearing on your screen. This can enhance your privacy and reduce unwanted advertisements. Ghostery's ad blocker extension can also help you browse faster and save power consumption.
Great addition/extension for Chrome, blocks pop up ads, trackers and more, showing you which sites are tracking you and with what. Allows customisation for individual pages, on a once off or permanent basis, keeping a record of your settings. Looks cool as well with a really clean UI/UX. Great product.
Ghostery is peace of mind, pure and simple — and it's super easy to use.
Simply great: easy to use and it works great.
Always an essential extension on any of my builds. It's not too noisy and it is efficient, often very subtle, which is good. So easy to use, even by one of my non-technical users.
sorry, used to work
it is amazing
not working on google, page stopped from opening drop down on page 01/23/24 will not load (can't read or change site data).
Doesn't work on Facebook, still seeing "commandite" posts every two posts on my feed. Doesn't need it on YouTube since I'm using Brave browser and they are already taking care of YouTube ads.
excellent Ad blocker firstly to all the guys below complaining that extension won't work for Youtube because youtube made it official that ads are essential on youtube for that reason user won't be able to use any ad blocker. before 2024 user was able to use ad blocker on youtube.
Perfect! expect on Youtube, if you remove the ads on Youtube it kinda makes the website broken. Overall PERFECT, It block nearly all trackers and ads.
Doesn't work for Youtube