There are more uBlock Origin advanced settings worth knowing about than most people realise, and getting to grips with them makes a real difference to how cleanly and privately you browse. Before diving in, though, a bit of context about why the extension landscape has shifted recently.
What Manifest V3 Did to Ad Blockers
Google’s move to Manifest V3 (MV3) for browser extensions has hobbled ad blockers in ways that are still playing out. According to research published on arXiv, Google planned to fully phase out MV2 extensions by July 2025. One of the most consequential changes, as PPC.land explains, is the modification of the webRequest API, which many content blockers rely on to intercept and modify network requests. Strip that out and you blunt the core mechanism that makes serious ad blocking work.
The upshot is that uBlock Origin has split into two products. The full uBlock Origin works primarily in Firefox on desktops, laptops and Android. uBlock Origin Lite, a trimmed-down version, works with most Chromium-based browsers and Safari on iPhone, iPad and Mac. Other ad blockers have adapted differently: Stands reports that Adblock Plus released its MV3 version on 3 May 2024, with that version allowing users to pick from up to 100 filter lists and enable 50 simultaneously. It is a different approach to the problem, and worth knowing about if you are a Chromium user weighing your options.
With all that in mind, here is what to actually do with whichever version you have.
uBlock Origin Advanced Settings Worth Enabling Now
Keep Basic filters on in uBlock Origin Lite. When you use Lite in Chrome or Safari, you get three filtering levels: Basic, Optimal and Complete. Basic blocks fewer ads than the others, but it also does not require access to your tabs and data. Most extensions demand access to every open tab, so Basic is a genuinely privacy-conscious default.
Block cookie banners properly. Both uBlock Origin and uBlock Origin Lite have built-in filters that hide cookie notices on most websites. In the full version, click the extension icon in the browser toolbar, select the gear icon to open settings, go to Filter lists and enable EasyList/uBO – Cookie Notices. Most cookie banners will disappear automatically after that.
Use the element zapper. Click the extension icon, then select the lightning bolt icon. Click any distracting element on the page and it vanishes immediately. In the Firefox version, the eyedropper (picker) tool goes further: select an element and a dropdown shows you the different classes and tags associated with it, so you can block precisely without having to click the exact pixel where a widget sits.
Disable JavaScript on a single page. In uBlock Origin for Firefox, click the extension icon, then click the > icon to disable JavaScript on the current page. Reload and the page runs without it. Useful for blocking trackers and scroll-hijacking scripts, though some pages will break, so apply it page by page rather than globally.
Disable uBlock Origin on a single page. In Firefox, click the extension icon and hold Ctrl while clicking the power button. Reload the page and the blocker stands down for that tab only. Handy when the extension breaks a site rather than fixing it.
Block large media elements to save data. In Firefox, click the film reel icon in the extension popup to block large media on the current page. To set a custom threshold globally, go to uBlock Origin settings, open the Settings tab, scroll to Default behaviour and enable Block media elements larger than, then type your threshold in kilobytes. Useful on metered connections.
Hide Google’s AI-generated search summaries. Both versions include an AI blocker. In Filter lists, enable EasyList – AI Widgets and the AI-generated results at the top of Google searches will no longer appear.
Stop link tracking. Sites including Instagram, Facebook and Threads embed trackers in links to trace which profile shared them. In Filter lists, enable AdGuard/uBO – URL Tracking Protection. That said, check URLs manually before sharing: no anti-tracking tool catches everything.
Add region-specific blocklists. In Filter lists, expand Regions and languages to reveal country-specific blocklists. If you regularly visit sites from particular countries, enable the relevant lists to catch trackers those regions use.
Back up and sync your settings. Firefox users can enable cloud storage support in uBlock Origin settings to sync across devices via their Firefox account. Both versions also support manual backup: hit the Back up button in the Settings tab to save a file, then use Restore on any other device running the same version. One restriction applies: Lite settings sync only with other Lite installs, and the full Firefox version syncs only with other Firefox installs.
The MV3 transition is not finished reshaping the ad-blocking landscape, and the gap between what the full Firefox version of uBlock Origin can do and what Lite can manage is real. If privacy matters to you, Firefox with the full uBlock Origin remains the setup that gives you the most control.
