What Blockthepig Actually Does
Blockthepig is an open-source ad-blocking extension primarily built for Chromium-based browsers. It works by filtering web traffic through blocklists, similar to how uBlock Origin or AdGuard operate, but it has a different approach to list management and resource usage. I've been running it on my main browser for about two years now alongside other blockers. The core idea is straightforward. You install it, point it at filter lists, and it silently blocks requests that match known ad-serving domains and trackers. The default setup blocks most display ads, video pre-rolls, and popups on standard websites. That part works reliably. What you'll run into first is the nuance around whitelisting and exception handling.
How Blockthepig Handles Filter Lists Differently
Most blockers load filter lists as plain text rules and evaluate each one against every network request. Blockthepig compiles those lists into a binary index format when you refresh them. This means initial load times after a list update take longer, maybe 30 to 45 seconds on a typical combined list set, but runtime performance is noticeably faster. Pages render with fewer dropped requests per second, which matters on slower connections or older hardware. One thing beginners miss: the compiled index does not auto-refresh the way some list managers do. You have to manually trigger an update from the extension popup or settings panel. If you go a week without updating, you're running on stale blocks and new ad-serving domains will leak through. I set a calendar reminder to update on the first and fifteenth of every month. That's been enough for my use case.
Common Pitfall: Overlay Ads and Anti-Adblock Walls
Here's where things get messy. Some sites deploy overlay ads that load as a legitimate first-party element or use domain fronting to serve ads from the same origin as the page content. Blockthepig treats these like any other request. If the ad domain is in your blocklist, it gets blocked, but the site's anti-adblock script may detect the missing request and refuse to show you the content entirely. I hit this constantly on a handful of news sites and gaming forums. My workaround for that was to create custom exceptions using Blockthepig's custom filter field. The syntax follows standard Adblock Plus conventions, so @@||example.com^$third-party allows third-party requests from that domain while keeping first-party requests filtered. I maintain a small personal list of these exceptions. It takes maybe five minutes to set up, and it saves you from having to disable the extension entirely on those sites.
Installation and Basic Setup
You can find Blockthepig on the official GitHub repository and on major extension marketplaces. The GitHub releases page has the standalone .crx file for manual installation if you don't want to go through a browser store. I recommend the GitHub route because store versions sometimes lag behind by a couple of weeks on updates. After installation, open the settings panel and add at least these filter sources:
- Alexis Hall's EasyList for general ad blocking
- The anti-adware list for tracking and manipulative elements
- Your regional list if you deal with non-English ads regularly
Combined, these usually bring your total rule count to somewhere between 90,000 and 120,000 entries depending on how often you refresh. Memory usage sits around 80 to 120 MB of RAM on Chromium, which is competitive with other blockers in this space. The extension also has a statistics tab showing blocked requests per day, per domain, and breakdown by category. I check this weekly to spot any sites that are suddenly generating unusual request volumes, which usually means a blocklist is either too aggressive or something on my end has changed.
Advanced: Custom Rule Injection
Blockthepig supports importing custom rules from external URLs, which means you can subscribe to community-maintained lists without touching the main filter settings. I import a curated privacy list from a GitHub Gist that catches JavaScript fingerprinting scripts that standard ad lists miss. These fingerprinting attempts don't serve ads but are used to build browser profiles for targeted advertising later. Blocking them reduces your exposure without affecting page functionality. To add a custom rule source, go to settings, find the custom filters section, and paste the raw URL. The extension fetches and merges it into your compiled index on the next manual refresh. Make sure the source URL returns plain text rules, not HTML, or the parser will throw errors during compilation.
Known Limitations and When to Switch
Blockthepig has real constraints. It does not support Firefox natively in the same way uBlock Origin does. If you use Firefox as your primary browser, you're better off with an extension that has deeper integration with Mozilla's permission model. Chromium-specific features like manifest V3 enforcement in Chrome 114+ also affect how Blockthepig handles certain list formats, and some advanced syntax from older blocklists may not parse correctly under the newer manifest. Another limitation: the extension has no built-in scriptlet injection. That means if a site uses anti-adblock techniques that require executing a custom JavaScript patch before the page loads, Blockthepig can't apply that fix. You'd need to pair it with a userscript manager like Tampermonkey or switch to a blocker that supports this natively. I keep both installed. Blockthepig handles the bulk of request-level blocking, and Tampermonkey covers the edge cases where site-level scripts fight back. For most home users doing casual browsing, this combination covers nearly everything. For power users managing dozens of accounts across multiple platforms, the manual maintenance overhead of keeping filter lists current and custom exceptions organized is real. It adds roughly 10 to 15 minutes of work per month to keep things clean. That's not trivial if you manage systems for other people.
If you're evaluating whether to switch entirely, test Blockthepig for a week on your actual browsing patterns. Pay attention to which sites break, how often you hit anti-adblock walls, and whether the memory footprint matches your expectations. The extension is solid for standard use, but it's not a silver bullet. It's one tool in a stack, and treating it like one will save you more trouble than treating it like a complete solution.
