You can reduce ads on Facebook, but you cannot turn them off completely

Facebook shows ads because the platform is free to use — advertising is how Meta makes money. You cannot remove ads entirely, but you can control which ads you see and how often they appear. The settings let you hide specific advertisers, limit data collection used to target you, and reduce ads from certain categories. These changes take effect within a few hours.

The most effective step is adjusting your ad preferences, which tells Facebook what kinds of ads bother you most. You can also limit how much information Facebook collects about your activity outside the platform, which makes targeting less precise. On mobile, the process is slightly different from desktop, but both routes reach the same settings.

Key Takeaways

  • You can hide individual ads and tell Facebook why you do not want to see them, which reduces similar ads over time.
  • The Ad Preferences section lets you control which advertisers can target you and what data Facebook uses to show you ads.
  • Limiting off-Facebook activity prevents Facebook from tracking what you do on other websites, making ads less personalized.
  • These changes work on both desktop and mobile, but the steps differ slightly between the two.
  • Ad blockers can hide ads visually, but they do not change what Facebook collects about you or how it targets you.

Hide individual ads and tell Facebook what you do not want to see

When an ad appears in your feed, you can dismiss it and tell Facebook why. Hover over the ad on desktop or tap the three dots on mobile, then select "Hide ad." Facebook will ask why you hid it — choose the reason that fits best, such as "I do not want to see ads about this" or "I do not want ads from this advertiser." Facebook uses this feedback to show you fewer similar ads.

This method works immediately, but the effect is gradual. Hiding one weight-loss ad does not stop all weight-loss ads, but it signals to Facebook that you are not interested in that category. Do this consistently with ads that annoy you, and over days or weeks you will notice fewer of them. The downside is that this approach only works on ads you actually see — it does not prevent Facebook from collecting data about you in the first place.

Adjust your ad preferences to control what Facebook knows about you

Your ad preferences page shows what information Facebook has collected about you and which advertisers can target you. On desktop, click the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom left, scroll to "Settings and privacy," then click "Settings." Select "Ads" from the left menu. On mobile, tap the menu icon, go to "Settings and privacy," then "Settings," and scroll down to "Ads."

In the Ad Preferences section, you will see categories like "Your interests," "Your information," and "Advertisers you have seen." You can remove interests Facebook thinks you have — for example, if Facebook lists "Fitness and wellness" but you do not care about those ads, click it and remove it. You can also see which advertisers have uploaded lists containing your information (often your email or phone number) and remove yourself from those lists by clicking the advertiser name and selecting "Remove."

Removing interests and advertisers does not stop ads entirely, but it narrows the pool of companies that can target you. Facebook will still show you ads, but they will be less personalized to your behavior and interests. This is one of the most direct ways to reduce the relevance of ads without using third-party tools.

Turn off off-Facebook activity tracking

Facebook tracks what you do on other websites and apps through tracking pixels and the Facebook SDK (a piece of code websites use to integrate Facebook features). This data helps advertisers target you across the internet. You can see this activity and disconnect it from your Facebook profile. On desktop, go to Settings, then "Apps and websites" in the left menu. On mobile, go to Settings, then scroll to "Apps and websites."

Click "View and manage" to see all the websites and apps that have sent Facebook information about you. The list is usually long and includes major retailers, news sites, and apps you may have used once. You cannot remove individual entries, but you can click "Clear history" at the top to disconnect all of this data from your account. Facebook will stop collecting new off-Facebook activity going forward, though websites can still track you — they just will not send that data to Facebook anymore.

Clearing off-Facebook activity makes a real difference in ad targeting. Advertisers will no longer know that you visited a shoe store's website or read articles about camping gear. Your ads will become less personalized and less likely to follow you around the internet. This setting resets periodically, so you may need to clear it again every few months if you want to maintain this level of privacy.

Use an ad blocker if you want to hide ads visually

Ad blockers are browser extensions or apps that hide ads on websites and sometimes on Facebook itself. Popular options include uBlock Origin (free, for Chrome and Firefox), AdBlock Plus (free, for most browsers), and others available in your browser's extension store. Installing an ad blocker takes two minutes: search for it in your browser's extension marketplace, click "Add to Chrome" or the equivalent, and confirm the permission request.

Ad blockers work by identifying code that displays ads and preventing it from loading. On Facebook, they can hide sponsored posts and ads in the sidebar, making your feed look cleaner. However, ad blockers do not change what Facebook collects about you or how it targets you — they only hide what you see. Facebook still knows your interests, still tracks your activity, and still sells access to advertisers. If privacy is your main concern, adjusting ad preferences and clearing off-Facebook activity are more effective than ad blockers alone.

Some websites and apps detect ad blockers and ask you to disable them or pay for an ad-free version. Facebook does not block ad blockers, but you may see a message asking you to turn yours off. You do not have to — Facebook will continue to work normally with an ad blocker enabled.

What to do if ads are still too frequent or irrelevant

If you have hidden ads, cleared your interests, and turned off off-Facebook activity but still see ads you dislike, the issue may be that Facebook has limited information about you. When Facebook knows little about your interests, it falls back on broad categories like age, location, and device type. This can result in random or irrelevant ads. In this case, hiding individual ads as they appear is your best option.

Another reason for persistent ads is that you may have interests you forgot about. Return to your Ad Preferences and check "Your interests" again — you might find categories you did not remember adding. Remove any that do not describe you accurately. Also check "Your information" to see what Facebook thinks it knows about your income, education, and life stage, and remove anything that is wrong.

If you want to reduce ads even further, consider limiting how much time you spend on Facebook. The less you use the platform, the less data Facebook collects, and the less it can target you. Some people find that taking breaks from Facebook also reduces the number of ads they see when they return, because Facebook has less recent activity to base targeting on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I pay Facebook to remove all ads?

Facebook does not offer an ad-free subscription for regular users in most countries. Meta does offer Meta Verified, a paid subscription that includes some features, but it does not remove ads from your feed. The only way to see Facebook without ads is to use third-party ad blockers, which hide ads visually but do not change how Facebook targets you.

Will clearing my ad preferences reset my interests?

Clearing off-Facebook activity does not reset your ad interests — those are separate. Your interests, which Facebook builds from your activity on Facebook itself, remain in place. You have to remove interests manually in the "Your interests" section of Ad Preferences if you want to change them.

Do ad blockers slow down Facebook?

Ad blockers may cause Facebook to load slightly slower because the browser has to process the blocking rules, but most users do not notice a significant difference. If you do experience slowness, try disabling the ad blocker temporarily to see if that is the cause. Some ad blockers are more resource-intensive than others, so switching to a lighter extension may help.

If I hide an ad, will that advertiser know?

No. When you hide an ad, Facebook records your feedback internally, but the advertiser does not receive a notification that you hid their ad. The advertiser only knows how many people saw their ad and how many clicked it — they do not know who hid it or why.

Why do I still see ads from advertisers I removed from my list?

Removing an advertiser from your list stops them from using uploaded lists to target you, but it does not prevent them from showing you ads based on your interests or location. For example, if you remove a shoe company but you have "Fashion" in your interests, that company can still target you as someone interested in fashion. You would need to remove the interest as well to stop seeing their ads entirely.