Ad blockers without “acceptable ads”

Some of the best-known ad blockers show certain ads by default. This page explains why, how to turn that off, and how PhilterAds handles it. Updated 31 October 2026.

What “Acceptable Ads” is

Acceptable Ads is an allow-list program run by eyeo, the company behind Adblock Plus. Ads that meet its standards for size, placement and labelling are shown instead of blocked. The standards are set by the Acceptable Ads Committee. eyeo says that larger companies pay a fee to take part, while smaller ones join for free.

Which ad blockers use it

Adblock Plus and AdBlock both come with Acceptable Ads switched on. You can turn it off.
uBlock Origin doesn’t take part in the program.
PhilterAds doesn’t take part, and never will.

Products change, so check each extension’s own settings for its current behaviour.

How to turn it off

In Adblock Plus or AdBlock, open the extension’s settings, find the Acceptable Ads option and switch it off. Where it sits depends on the version. After that, those ads are blocked like any other.

How PhilterAds is different

No paid exceptions. No advertiser can pay to get ads through PhilterAds. It runs on voluntary support from the people who use it.
The one allow-list protects you, not advertisers. PhilterAds keeps sign-in, payment and captcha services working with an allow-list that outranks every blocking rule. It contains no ad domains, and every build is tested against it.
You can check. The code is open source under GPLv3, and so is the list of what it allows.

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