🛡️ SimplShadow - The #1 Ad Blocker on Chrome

A high-performance ad blocker with real-time analytics and a beautiful modern UI.

✨ What's New in 2.1.0

• Fresh New Look - Completely redesigned UI with modern blue theme
• Light/Dark Mode - Auto-detects system theme or choose manually
• Interactive Stats - Slide panel showing detailed blocking info
• Use Less RAM - New memory optimization setting
• Better Icons - Blue gradient icons with disabled state indication
• Lucide Icons - Beautiful, consistent iconography throughout

Features

• ⚡ High-Performance Blocking - Blocks ads at the network level before they load
• 📊 Real-Time Analytics - Track blocked ads with session, page, and all-time stats
• 🎯 1500+ Ad Domains - Pre-loaded blocklist covering major ad networks
• 🎨 Modern UI - Sleek interface with light/dark theme support
• 🌐 Per-Site Whitelist - Easily whitelist your favorite sites
• 🔒 Privacy Focused - No data collection, everything stays local
• 💾 Memory Optimization - "Use Less RAM" mode for lower memory footprint
• 🎬 Streaming Support - Advanced YouTube and Twitch ad blocking

Installation

Ensure you downloaded the zip file of this repository

Firefox (Manifest V2)

1. Open Firefox and navigate to about:debugging#/runtime/this-firefox
2. Click "Load Temporary Add-on..."
3. Navigate to adblocker-firefox folder
4. Select the manifest.json file
5. SimplShadow is now active!

For permanent installation:

1. Go to about:addons
2. Click the gear icon → "Install Add-on From File..."
3. Select the zipped extension folder

Chrome / Edge (Manifest V3)

1. Open Chrome/Edge and navigate to chrome://extensions/ (or edge://extensions/)
2. Enable "Developer mode" (toggle in top right)
3. Click "Load unpacked"
4. Select the adblocker-chrome folder
5. SimplShadow is now active!

Usage

Main Controls

• Power Button - Large toggle in popup to enable/disable ad blocking
• Stats Card - Click to open detailed blocking statistics panel
• Site Card - Shows current domain with quick whitelist toggle
• Settings - Access theme, memory, and blocking options

Statistics

• Total Blocked - Lifetime blocked requests
• This Page - Ads blocked on current page
• Elements Hidden - DOM elements removed
• Detailed Panel - Slide-out panel with top blocked domains

Settings

• Theme - Auto (system), Light, or Dark mode
• Use Less RAM - Reduces memory by limiting stat history
• Block WebSockets - Prevent WebSocket ad connections
• Block WebRTC - Disable WebRTC IP leak
• Cosmetic Filtering - Enable/disable element hiding

Icon Status

• Blue icon - Protection active
• Gray icon - Protection paused
• Badge number - Ads blocked this session

What Gets Blocked

SimplShadow blocks:

• Ad Networks - Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Amazon Ads, etc.
• Trackers - Analytics, fingerprinting, cross-site tracking
• Content Recommendations - Taboola, Outbrain, etc.
• Video Ads - Pre-roll, mid-roll, overlay ads
• Pop-ups/Popunders - Intrusive overlay ads
• Crypto Miners - In-browser mining scripts
• WebSocket Ads - Real-time ad delivery channels
• WebRTC Leaks - Prevents IP address exposure

Platform-Specific Blocking

Platform	What's Blocked
YouTube	Pre-roll/mid-roll video ads, overlay ads, sidebar promoted videos, masthead ads, auto-skip enabled, ad speed-up
Twitch	Video ads, display ads, Prime/Turbo promos
Reddit	Promoted posts, sidebar ads (old & new Reddit)
Twitter/X	Promoted tweets, promoted trends
Facebook	Sponsored posts, marketplace ads
Instagram	Sponsored posts, story ads
TikTok	In-feed video ads
Spotify Web	Display ads, upgrade prompts

Project Structure

├── adblocker-firefox/          # Firefox extension (Manifest V2)
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── background-enhanced.js  # Request interception with filter engine
│   ├── content.js              # DOM element hiding
│   ├── content-youtube-enhanced.js  # Advanced YouTube ad skipper
│   ├── content-twitch.js       # Twitch ad blocker
│   ├── content-websocket.js    # WebSocket blocking
│   ├── content.css             # Ad hiding styles
│   ├── data/
│   │   ├── blocklist.js        # Domain blocklist
│   │   └── streaming-blocklist.js  # Streaming platform rules
│   ├── popup/
│   │   ├── popup.html          # Modern redesigned popup
│   │   ├── popup.css           # Theme-aware styles
│   │   └── popup.js            # Popup functionality
│   ├── options/                # Settings page
│   └── icons/                  # Blue gradient + disabled icons
│
├── adblocker-chrome/           # Chrome extension (Manifest V3)
│   ├── manifest.json
│   ├── background.js           # Service worker
│   ├── content.js              # DOM element hiding
│   ├── content-youtube-enhanced.js  # Advanced YouTube ad skipper
│   ├── content-twitch.js       # Twitch ad blocker
│   ├── content-websocket.js    # WebSocket blocking
│   ├── content.css             # Ad hiding styles
│   ├── rules/
│   │   └── rules.json          # Declarative net request rules
│   ├── popup/
│   ├── options/
│   └── icons/
│
└── README.md

Technical Details

Firefox (Manifest V2)

• Uses webRequest.onBeforeRequest with blocking
• Full programmatic control over what gets blocked
• Filter list parsing (EasyList format support)
• Scriptlet injection for advanced ad bypass

Chrome (Manifest V3)

• Uses declarativeNetRequest API
• Rules defined statically in JSON
• Dynamic rules for whitelist functionality
• More efficient but less flexible

🦊 Why Firefox is Better for Ad Blocking

Not satisfied with the Chrome version? Try our Firefox Adblocker instead!

Since Firefox's manifest has a lot less restrictions and a lot more leniency for ad blocking, we are able to improve the functionality of our adblocking much more on Firefox than on Chrome.

Feature	Firefox (MV2)	Chrome (MV3)
Request Blocking	Full programmatic control	Static rules only
Filter Lists	Live parsing & updates	Requires recompilation
Scriptlet Injection	Full support	Limited
WebRequest API	✅ Blocking mode	❌ Removed
Dynamic Rules	Unlimited	Limited to 5,000
Performance	Slightly higher memory	More efficient

However, we still try to improve the Chrome version of our app every day. Yet, we still suggest moving to Firefox if you want more of an ad-free experience.

Design System

• Fonts: Outfit (logo), Plus Jakarta Sans (headings), Rubik (body)
• Colors: Primary blue (#3B82F6 to #1D4ED8)
• Icons: Lucide icon set
• Themes: CSS variables for light/dark mode

Performance

SimplShadow is designed for minimal performance impact:

• Network-level blocking prevents ad resources from ever loading
• CSS-based element hiding is hardware-accelerated
• Efficient DOM observation with MutationObserver
• Stats updates are batched to reduce storage writes
• "Use Less RAM" mode further reduces memory footprint

Privacy

• No telemetry - We don't collect any data
• No remote servers - Everything runs locally
• No account required - Just install and use
• Open source - Audit the code yourself

Troubleshooting

Site breaks with SimplShadow

Use the whitelist button to disable blocking for that site.

Ads still showing

Some sites use advanced anti-adblock techniques. Try refreshing the page or report the site for blocklist updates.

High memory usage

Enable "Use Less RAM" in settings to reduce memory footprint.

Theme not changing

Make sure to select the theme in SimplShadow settings, or choose "Auto" to follow system preference.

License

MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute.

Contact

Email: simplstudios@protonmail.com

Company Website: https://simplstudios.vercel.app

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SimplShadow - Browse the web without the noise. 🛡️