How to Get Rid of Ads on Pinterest: Simple and Effective Solutions

Why are there so many ads on Pinterest?

Pinterest is a free-to-use platform and they generate revenue through advertisements.

This means that people buy ad space on Pinterest and pay them a certain amount for that ad space.

This is the whole business model of Pinterest which is somewhat similar to Facebook and Instagram.

The number of Pinterest users has now reached almost half a billion people. If there are more people there will definitely be more advertisers.

This is the reason why ads have been increasing on Pinterest in the last few years.

If Pinterest eliminates ads from their app then I guess you will have to pay Pinterest to use the platform. Well, in that case, I would go with ads I am ok with that (smiles)

Pinterest Has User Data

Pinterest knows about your interests and behavior because of your activity on the app.

This data is crucial for marketers because they want to reach people with certain likes and dislikes.

Pinterest leverages this data to help advertisers reach their target audience and convert them into paying customers.

Increased Scope of E-Commerce

Drop shipping and other E-commerce models have become famous in the past 5 – 6 years.

More businesses mean more advertisements.

The Pinterest audience is among one of the highest-paying audiences on the internet and marketers just don’t want to miss out on that.

I have seen hundreds of people in my circle switching to Pinterest ads because of high conversion rates on Pinterest.

While the Pinterest audience loves to buy there are some just like me and you.

We don’t want our experience to be interrupted by an ad for dog food. If we want to buy something we will just go and search for it ourselves. Right? We don’t want Pinterest to tell us what we need.

How to Get Rid of Ads on Pinterest

There are many different ways through which you can turn off ads on Pinterest.

These methods however are different for both mobile and desktop so we will have a look at them separately.

Let’s start with how you can reduce the number of ads and then we will talk about how to turn off ads completely on Pinterest.

How To Reduce Ads On Pinterest

Pinterest builds your profile by looking at your age, gender, email, search history, content interactions, outbound clicks, saves, and IP address.

This data then helps Pinterest advertisers to show their ads to the relevant audience. This means if you do not give Pinterest access to your data they will not be able to show you many ads.

To reduce the number of ads on Pinterest you don’t need to even go out of the Pinterest app.

Go to your Pinterest account settings and click on “Privacy and Data”

Under the ads personalization settings toggle off “Use sites you visit” and “Use your activity to improve ads.“

When you turn off these settings Pinterest will not know about your Interests. If they don’t know about your interests they won’t show you ads because they can’t be spending advertisers money in places where they are not sure about conversion.

When you make this small tweak in your account you will see the number of ads decreasing in both Pinterest mobile and desktop apps.

How To Block Ads On Pinterest For Desktop

One of the easiest ways to get rid of ads on Pinterest is using ad blockers.

Ad blockers are extensions that prevent ads from showing up on your feed. Ad blockers filter out any ads on your feed and prevents them from loading on any web page.

There are thousands of ad blockers out there but in my experience, you should choose any of these:

All these Chrome extensions will help you get rid of ads and block pop-ups on the Pinterest desktop app.

One thing to remember here is that these ad blockers might perform differently on different versions of your desktop so you might have to go through a bit of trial and error before you find a good one.

You can search for ad blockers in Chrome Store and can find additional ad blockers if these don’t work because sometimes Pinterest might find out that you are using ad blockers.

The last thing you want happening is your account suspended for using ad blockers.

How to Install and Configure an Ad Blocker for Pinterest

Open your web browser and go to the extension store (e.g., Chrome Web Store, Firefox Add-ons).
Search for the ad blocker you prefer (e.g., AdBlock, uBlock Origin).
Click “Add to Chrome” or “Add to Firefox” to install the extension.
Once you have the ad blocker installed, click on the ad blocker icon in your browser toolbar.
Access the settings or options menu.
Ensure that the ad blocker is enabled for Pinterest by adding it to the list of filtered sites.
Customize additional settings as needed, such as blocking specific types of ads or allowing non-intrusive ads.

Clearing Cookies And Cache

If you know how ads work then you will know about this.

I am going to tell this anyway so forget that.

Advertisers usually target you based on the data stored in your browsers in the form of cookies or cache. This data helps them accurately target users. If there is no data there is no targeting.

THAT’S GENIUS!

You can clear cookies and cache in your browser by:

Click the three-dot menu at the top-right corner of the browser.
Select “Settings.”
Scroll down and click “Privacy and security.”
Click “Clear browsing data.”
Choose a time range (e.g., “All time”) and select “Cookies and other site data” and “Cached images and files.”
Click “Clear data.

How To Get Rid Of Ads On Pinterest For Mobile

I have seen a lot of people installing ad blockers on their phones but those don’t usually work.

Hasn’t worked for me so far…

If you go to your app store or Google Play store you can find a ton of different ad blockers and try them.

These ad blockers only work when you are using Pinterest on your web browsers like Safari or Chrome.

If you are using the native Pinterest app then chances are that these ad blockers won’t work because the Pinterest app does not support any extensions in smartphones.

You can however use a browser on your phone with ad blockers but I wouldn’t recommend that because that experience is not smooth.

I would rather use the Pinterest app with ads then…

Changing Your Pinterest Settings

If you change the ad personalization settings you might be able to reduce the number of ads you see on Pinterest.

Another thing that I have seen work really well is selecting an age under 18.

Advertisers usually don’t target people who are under 18 years of age so you might see very few ads when you select that age bracket.

Clearing Cookies In Your Settings

If you decide to use Pinterest through your web browser on your phone then clearing cookies can also help you eliminate ads. The steps are the same for Android and desktop and for IOS:

Click “Safari” in the menu bar and select “Preferences.”
Go to the “Privacy” tab.
Click “Manage Website Data.”
Click “Remove All” to clear cookies and cache.

FAQ’s

Can I turn off ads on Pinterest?

You can’t completely turn off ads, but you can reduce them by adjusting settings, using ad blockers, and clearing cookies.

How to get rid of ads on Pinterest on iPhone?

Adjust “Privacy & Data” settings to turn off personalized ads and use an ad-blocking app like AdGuard or 1Blocker.

You can also use Pinterest in your browser like SAFARI with ad blockers to get rid of ads.

How to get rid of ads on Pinterest on Android?

Adjust “Privacy & Data” settings to turn off personalized ads and install an ad-blocking app like AdGuard or Blokada.

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of our guide on how to get rid of ads on Pinterest.

Eliminating ads on Pinterest desktop is fairly easy. If you have a good ad blocker that is compatible with your PC you will be able to block ads easily.

If you don’t want to use any external software then you can change your ad preferences or change your personal information to reduce the number of ads.

If you have any tips or suggestions related to Pinterest make sure you share them in the comments below!

More Resources
Pinterest vs Pinterest Lite: Which One is Right for You?
What Are Impressions on Pinterest and Why They Matter