No more ads and AI summaries: uBlock Origin filters

Removing ads and AI summaries from a website without breaking it

Can you read a page without ads, without banners interrupting your reading, and without an AI-generated text summarizing what you haven't even finished reading? You can, and the most commonly recommended route doesn't require switching browsers. The tool mentioned most often is uBlock Origin, a filtering extension that works the same on Firefox as on any derivative and that, unlike the blockers some browsers ship with, doesn't lock the reader into a single program.

That difference is not trivial. A built-in blocker ties you to that specific browser; the extension installs wherever you like and accepts hand-written rules. That's where the real appeal lies: deciding what gets hidden and what doesn't, instead of accepting the closed package.

The AI summary sneaks in after the first post

The latest invention to infuriate readers is the automatic summary that appears right after the first post on a page. The technical problem is that this block has no class of its own: it shares a name with half the web, so an aggressive filter wipes out half the site along with it. That's why more than one person has seen entire sections go blank without knowing why.

The solution is to aim precisely. Instead of blocking the generic container, you target only the block containing the summary wording, with a conditional rule that excludes normal posts. If the filter the system suggests is a bare .block or .block-container, you have to delete it: it leaves entire categories empty. The full breakdown of selectors would fill a manual, and that's the difference between leaving the site clean and leaving it unusable.

Why does the web break when you block too much?

Because the generic containers are the same ones holding up the page's structure. Anyone applying rules with a sledgehammer finds they only see half-loaded posts, that some trending threads appear blank and that older ones load without a problem. Two filters dated September 17 and 21, 2026 fixed the related threads block without touching anything else, but every new addition is a gamble.

On top of that there's a limit many discover too late: the ignore list is capped at 1,000 accounts. Once you pass that limit, quotes from blocked accounts reappear on screen.

Blocking ads on mobile

On the phone things get trickier. The Brave browser allows filters to be enabled manually on Android, and there are other browsers that accept extensions for adding your own rules, though the selection is thinner than on desktop. There's also a space problem: the AI-generated summary takes up a larger proportion of the screen and leaves less text visible. Ads embedded in video platforms play cat and mouse, with blockers that work sometimes and fail others.

Paying 5 euros for an account: the Forocoches case

The conversation drifts toward the cost of digital communities. Access to Forocoches, a Spanish forum, costs 5 euros, and the free option of the past is gone. Some trace its decline to the withdrawal of advertisers that trinc a high-profile case and the arrival of a verification team moderating behind the scenes; that story circulates as attributed, not confirmed. What its users describe is a climate of self-censorship: if you stand out too much, your account gets dropped, and getting it back is no easy task.

In the end, dodging ads means learning selectors and fine-tuning rules as if you were the IT guy on duty. Nobody signed up for that second job.