Gmail ads are getting so invasive. Can they be blocked?
New Gmail advertisement is more intrusive than ever, in your mailbox, in your Gmail app, everywhere. Can the ads be blocked?
New Gmail advertising goes too far
For many, Gmail has been a go-to email service, valued for its clean design and powerful features. But with recent changes to Gmail’s advertising strategy, more users are finding their inboxes cluttered with ads that do feel a bit too intrusive. Thus, Gmail ads feel more overwhelming than ever, and the tactics Google uses are not exactly privacy-preserving.
This is no surprise. After all, Alphabet - the mother company of Google and Gmail - makes its biggest chunk of revenue with advertisements. It’s fair to say that Google, and thus also Gmail, is the largest ads business in today’s tech world. Ads, it seems, are the most lucrative assets most tech companies rely on - even Netflix’ profits surged since it added an ad-based subscription plan.
Yet, the saying that every privacy fan knows is today more true than ever: If it’s free, you are the product. And the free Gmail with its ads does not make a difference here. That’s why ads in Gmail must be blocked!
Tuta - along with other privacy-first companies - has already sent an open letter to the EU calling on legislators to ban personalization of ads as it destroys the free and open internet. The ad-based business model gives companies that use and abuse user data a competitive edge as these companies generate so much money with the advertisements that they can easily outrun the competition that fights for a better internet, one where your privacy is being respected.
Why Gmail ads must be blocked
Gmail has had ads for years, but recent changes have made them harder to ignore. Now, ads are seamlessly blended into users’ Social and Promotions tabs, appearing like regular emails at the top of the inbox and making it easy to confuse these advertisements with genuine email messages.
Google’s data collection means that these ads are often personalized based on browsing history, making them feel particularly intrusive.
After all, the aim of the highly personalized advertisements is that these should trigger the viewer into buying a product that they might be interested in already - at least theoretically. However, with the constant bombardment of ads, people are denied free choice. In an internet, in a world, full of advertisements, the advertisers - or in this case - Google makes the choice for the people. Choice gets limited to what is being shown to the people directly via ads in their Gmail account all the time…
Google’s ad tactics feel misleading
One frustration many users have is the difficulty in managing or blocking these ads. Although Google suggests clicking the three dots on an ad and selecting “Stop Seeing This Ad”, Gmail users report that this option does little to reduce the frequency or repetition of ads. What is more is that Google has started to push inline ads directly into the Gmail which are displayed in the web client as well as in the Gmail apps.
This ad tactic by Googel leads to frustration, which is echoed by users on Reddit, who noted how Gmail changed the layout of the delete button, making it harder to delete advertorial emails and potentially inflating ad engagement metrics by accident. This change, which seems to benefit ad performance at the expense of usability, has left many users feeling that Gmail’s user experience is more than ever driven by advertising revenue rather than user needs.
Gmail users on Reddit call Google’s ad tactics a “dark pattern” and complain that
”The worst is how they swap the position of the delete buttons for the ad mail. So you can be clicking “delete” for everything and then for the ad mail it will just open it up. Infuriating!"
"I can begrudgingly accept ads in the app, but I will not accept them deliberately swapping the positions around to trick you into clicking on their ad.”
How Google uses your data to personalize advertisements
Despite common misconceptions, Google doesn’t directly share your email address with advertisers or reads your emails to show personalized ads - though Google’s AI Gemini says it would use Gmail email data to answer your questions.
The truth is, Google does not need to read your emails to know everything about you.
Instead, it relies on its vast data collection from search history, YouTube views, and other behaviors within the Google ecosystem to display ads within Gmail. Many users feel this level of tracking goes too far, especially as Google combines behavioral data with retargeting.
These ads, embedded so closely with genuine emails, feel more intrusive than ever, so that many users have started to question whether they can still trust Google and its ad-based business. In fact, more and more people want to ad-based business model to cease from existence.
Get rid of ads
If Google’s ad practices have made Gmail an uncomfortable experience for you, it’s time to de-Google!
While you can adjust your Google preferences, for instance by disabling the Social and the Promotion tab and by turning off personalization in your Ad Settings in Gmail to stop Google from the intrusively targeted ads, you will not be able to get rid of advertisements in Gmail completely, as Google is saying so itself.
To achieve that, you need to quit Gmail for good and replace it with a private alternative like Tuta Mail.
Privacy-centered email services like Tuta Mail offer an ad-free, encrypted email experiences, putting your privacy above all - even above any potential ad revenue.
In the past, it would have been sufficient to install browser extensions like uBlock Origin. Extensions like uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, or Ghostery can help block tracking scripts that inform ad personalization, making ads in Gmail less tailored. While ad-block extensions can remove ads in thr browser entirely, blocking the tracking scripts can reduce the extent of tracking Google can perform on your activity. However, Google did not like that. Since a few years, Google is cracking down on ad-blocking extensions so Gmail users need to switch to a private browser like Firefox of Brave for being able to still block ads in the Gmail web client.
This work-around, however, is not at all possible in the Gmail app. To use Gmail on mobile without ads, people would need to use alternative email apps and connect their Gmail address with one of these via IMAP. This requires a few technical steps, which is annoying and cumbersome to most mobile users who simply want to install an app, login and view their emails.
Make the switch, enjoy privacy
Gmail’s increasingly ad-heavy experience is leaving many long-time users frustrated and considering privat email alternatives. Whether you’re annoyed by Google’s reliance on aggressive ad tactics or tired of the intrusive data collection, it’s time to take back control over your data.
Switching to a privacy-focused provider like Tuta Mail is fast, easy, and - best of all - your email account remains free while freeing you from any form of annoying advertisements at the same time!
