Our Favorite Ad Blockers and Browser Extensions to Protect Privacy

Creepy ads that seem to follow you from site to site. Instagram posts that appear suspiciously related to your web searches. Ads that fully obscure the article you’re trying to read with an autoplaying video. The reality of the modern web is that companies are always trying to track you, collecting your valuable data.

Not to brag, but I haven’t had to deal with most ads and other online annoyances for years. As Wirecutter’s resident security expert, I use privacy-protecting browser extensions — and I recommend them for everyone else, too. Here are my personal go-to browser extensions, plus some trusted alternatives, for ad and tracker blockers, password managers, tools for separating browsing identities, and email-masking services.