AdBlock was created in 2009 as an ad blocker for Google Chrome. Since then, it has been a popular browser extension, finding its place in Firefox, Safari, Android, and iOS. However, in recent years it has seen some major changes. A lot of it came due to its acquisition by eyeo GmbH, the same company that owns Adblock Plus.
eyeo has been doubling down on their acceptable ads program, where they allow “non-intrusive ads”. AdBlock has been allowing these acceptable ads by default. Which is a controversial move many users may not like. Other than that, there are plenty of reasons for wanting to cancel your AdBlock subscription, including but not limited to, overcharging, lack of features, or change of mind. Whatever it is, we are here to help.
How To Cancel AdBlock Premium?
There are several ways you can cancel your AdBlock Premium subscription based on your payment method, platform of choice, and overall preference.
How To Cancel AdBlock Premium From the Browser Extension?
AdBlock is, first and foremost, a browser extension. It exists in your browser and blocks ads for you. So the easiest way to cancel it, is right from the extension.
- From the top right corner of your browser, find the extensions and click on the AdBlock icon to open its pop-up menu
- The pop-up menu should have a gear icon in the top right corner, click on it to access options
- From the left-hand side of the Options page, go to “Premium”
- On the “Premium” page, in the top right corner, you should find “Manage your subscription”. Click on it.
- You will receive a 6-digit verification code. Enter the code to access the subscription management page
- On the right side of your subscription details, you will find the option to cancel your subscription
How To Cancel AdBlock Premium Using Paddle?
eyeo GmbH, the parent company of AdBlock and Adblock Plus, uses Paddle to manage payments for their software. After subscribing, you have received your payment invoice from Paddle, or found Paddle in your bank statement instead of eyeo or AdBlock, then this method should work for you.
- Go to paddle.net and click on “Look up my purchase” on the left-hand side
- On the next page, enter your email, and click on “Locate my purchase”
- You should then find a verification email. Proceed from there and you should be verified.
- After verification process, you will find yourself in a page with all your Paddle payments. Click on “Get help” right next to AdBlock.
- From there, Paddle will connect you to a virtual assistant or a support team who will guide you through the cancellation process.
Please keep in mind that you may need to share information related to your payment, such as your email address, and invoice with the support team or the assistant. However, always be vigilant and never share any personal details, password, verification code, credit card number, etc.
How To Cancel AdBlock Premium From PayPal?
AdBlock Premium allows payments using PayPal. If you have purchased your subscription using PayPal, you’re in luck because PayPal makes it extremely easy to cancel recurring payments and subscriptions.
- From your web browser, log in to PayPal
- In the top right corner, click on the gear icon to enter settings
- From settings, select “Payments” from the second top bar
- Click on “Automatic payments”
- On the left-hand side, select AdBlock or eyeo GmbH
- On the right side, click on “cancel” next to the Active status
- In the confirmation pop-up, click “Cancel Automatic Payments”
How To Cancel AdBlock Premium Via Email?
The methods and processes we have talked about here are the quickest. However, most of them are automated process that can often not meet your certain requirements or fail to help you. Thankfully, you can your AdBlock Premium subscription over email too. Just submit your request to support@getadblock.com. It’s best to use the same email address that is associated with your premium account and payment, that way it would be easier for them to verify your identity. Be sure to attach the receipt or a screenshot of your billing statement, as it helps them find your payment quicker.
How To Get A Refund From AdBlock?
While AdBlock offers a 60-day money-back guarantee, in some valid circumstances, you can get the refund even after the 60-day period. However, you will not have any chances of getting a refund after 5 months. So it is best to ask for a refund as early as possible. All refund requests should go to the email address, support@getadblock.com. If you directly dispute the charge with PayPal or your credit card company, that might delay the process. And just like the cancellation process, a receipt or a screenshot of your billing statement will make it easier for them to process your request quicker.
How To Remove and Uninstall AdBlock?
If you are planning on getting rid of AdBlock, it’s best to cancel any active subscriptions first. Just removing the extension from your browser is not going to stop recurring payments. With that out of the way, uninstalling AdBlock is fairly easy.
How To Remove AdBlock From Chrome & Edge?
- Type in chrome://extensions/ in your address bar and enter the page
- Find the “AdBlock – block ads across the web” extension and hit “remove”
- When asked for confirmation, hit “Remove” again
How To Remove AdBlock From Firefox?
- In the address bar, type in about:addons and hit go
- Find “AdBlock – block ads across the web” and click on the three dots next to it
- Click “Remove” from the context menu and again when asked for confirmation
How To Remove AdBlock From Safari?
- From the top bar, click on “Safari”
- From there, go to Settings (or Preferences)
- On the top bar of the settings page, choose “Extensions”
- Select the AdBlock extension and click the Uninstall button
How To Remove AdBlock From iPhone?
- Find the AdBlock app on your iPhone home screen
- Tap and hold on the AdBlock app icon and press “Delete App”
- Press “Delete” again in the confirmation pop-up
Are You Really Using AdBlock?
A lot of the users make a common mistake of getting confused between AdBlock, Adblock Plus, and Total Adblock because they all have a similar name, and a red octagonal icon. This often leads to unintentional and misleading user reviews.
The cancellation methods described in this article will only work for you if you are using AdBlock, owned by eyeo GmbH. The AdBlock logo has a raised hand symbol in the middle. And it may also be known by “AdBlock – block ads across the web” on web stores and in your extensions page. Their official website is getadblock.com.
How Much Does AdBlock Premium Cost?
AdBlock Premium costs as low as $2 a month. However, there’s a bundle with a VPN that costs $4 a month. The early plans cost $20, and $40 respectively. Now where it gets confusing is when you install AdBlock, you are greeted with a welcome page that asks for your contribution, which came be one off, monthly, and yearly. And each of these plans promise to block pop-ups, which is a premium feature, but they are all priced different.
We have gone through many user complaints about AdBlock’s one off payments, which are not supposed to be recurring, yet they are charged again after a certain period of time. We tested the $2 a month package, which was fairly easy to cancel. But you should practice caution before purchasing the other plans.
Before You Cancel AdBlock
If you have already decided that you’re going to cancel your AdBlock Premium subscription, you know a few things first.
1. You Will Get Back to the Free Tier
So once you cancel your subscription, you will be back on the free tier at the end of your pay cycle. Now, the free version of AdBlock is very usable, and blocks ads on almost every website we have tested. Although, you may want to disable the “acceptable ads” first. However, it does not block popups or cookie consents, which is available on a lot of free alternatives. So you may want to switch to something else.
2. You Should Cancel Ahead of Time
It’s best to not wait until the last day before cancelling your subscription. If anything goes wrong, and you may need to wait, AdBlock may end up charging you for another cycle. However, if you cancel ahead of time, you’ll get to use AdBlock until the end of your pay cycle.
3. You Are Entitled To A Refund
AdBlock offers a 60-day money-back guarantee that can be extended under certain circumstances. The earlier you cancel, the better chances you have of getting a refund. However, they also stated that no refund shall be given after 5 months. You will be required to submit a refund request via email along with the payment receipt, and you will receive a complete refund on the account or card used to make the purchase.
4. User Complaints
We’ve gone through Reddit and Trust Pilot to see what users are saying about AdBlock, and we have found many complaints. Most of these are about AdBlock’s “acceptable ads” program. Most users aren’t tech-savvy enough to disable it, so it being enabled by default is a bad call. Moreover, the YouTube ad blocking is a hit or miss for a lot of users. And many users have complained that they are being overcharged.
Conclusion
Cancelling AdBlock is fairly simple. And we like the fact that their 60-day money-back guarantee is somewhat flexible, and can be extended if there is a valid reason for it. From our experience, we did not face any issue when we cancelled our subscription right from the extension. However, when using the other methods, you may have to wait a while as the process is not fully automated. And while the free version of AdBlock is usable, you may be better off with an alternative that does not have any acceptable ads program, like AdGuard or uBlock Origin.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Disable AdBlock?
There are two ways you can disable AdBlock. The easy way is to click on the AdBlock icon from your browsers extensions, and click “pause on this site”. This will disable AdBlock on the site that you’re on. However, if you want to disable the extension, right-click on the icon and click “manage extension”. Then you can just toggle off the extension, and it should be disabled.
Is AdBlock Free?
AdBlock is a freemium ad blocker. The free tier offers ads and tracker blocking. But features like cookie consent cutter, pop-up blocker are reserved for the premium users. For as low as $2 a month or $20 a year, you will also get some additional features like image swap and theming. AdBlock also offers a $4 a month plan that bundles in a VPN with it. But all in all, the free version of AdBlock is very usable.
Is AdBlock Safe?
Yes, AdBlock is Safe. AdBlock collects a minimal amount of data to provide you with their services. Moreover, the extension also protects you from malicious sites. But there are some privacy concerns regarding AdBlock especially since it was acquired by eyeo GmbH in 2021 and brought massive changes to its code. It also requires a lot of user permissions that may seem unnecessary.