Have you always wanted a pop-up blocker for Chrome? However, you do not want to download extensions that hog computer resources. Well, you can enable Google Chrome pop-up blocker without using any extension. There are three ways to do so. Firstly, you can do so via Chrome’s settings. Secondly, you can use the Windows Registry to block pop-ups. And, lastly, if you are using MacOS, you can do so via terminal command. Here are the steps.
Enable Chrome Pop-Up Blocker via Settings
- Click the vertical dots in the upper-right corner of the browser.
- Then, choose “Settings” from the menu that appears.
- Select “Show advanced settings…” at the bottom.
- Select “Content settings…“.
- In the “Pop-ups” section, choose:
- Allow all sites to show pop-ups.
- Do not allow any site to show pop-ups.
Additionally, you can select the “Manage Exceptions” button to set specific websites to allow or block pop-ups.
Disable Pop-up Blocker
- On your computer, open Chrome.
- At the top right, click More.
- Click Settings.
- At the bottom, click Show advanced settings.
- Under “Privacy,” click Content settings.
- Under “Pop-ups,” select an option:
- Do not allow any site to show pop-ups (recommended)
- Allow all sites to show pop-ups (this turns off pop-up blocker)
However, if you want to reinforce or use a different method, you can use the simple registry trick for Windows below.
Block Chrome Pop Up Ads via Windows Registry
- Hold the Windows Key and press “R” to open the “Run” box.
- Type “Regedit.”
- Then, press “Enter.“
- Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Policies \ Google \ Chrome
- Right-click “Chrome.”
- Now, select “New” > “DWORD 32-bit value.”
- Give the value a name of “DefaultPopupsSetting.”
- Set the value data to:
- 1 = Allow all sites to show pop-ups
- 2 = Disable popups
Also, note that if you do not see a Google or Chrome folder under policies that you can create the “Google” and “Chrome” folders manually. Finally, once complete, restart the computer, and the setting will be applied. For Mac users, use the following.
Terminal Command – Block Popups on Chrome for Mac
- From the Finder, select “Go” > “Utilities.”
- Open the “Terminal” app.
- Type the following, then press “Enter“:
defaults write com.google.chrome DefaultPopupsSetting -integer <n>
Where “<n>” is 0, 1, or 2 depending on your desired outcome.- 1 = Allow all sites to show pop-ups
- 2 = Disable popups
Finally, your Mac or Windows PC should no longer allow pop-ups when running Chrome. However, ensure that you don’t have any plugins or extensions installed in Chrome that may be handling pop-up blocking. Such plugins may interfere with the functionality of these settings.