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How to create your own personal filter list

If you use Chrome and are updated to AdBlock Version 6.0 or later, support for third-party filter lists (including custom filter lists) has been removed due to changes related to Manifest V3. We plan to return the option, along with any filter lists you were subscribed to, in a future version soon. In the meantime, as a workaround for custom filter lists, you can add your custom filter rules to the Customize tab in AdBlock's Options. To learn how, see the section "Where to find and edit your custom filters" in this article: How to use custom filters.

Have questions or concerns? We can help: Submit a request.


Why is a personal filter list helpful?

Suppose you've created dozens, even hundreds, of custom filters in your journeys across the Web. Your filters won't sync to your other AdBlock extensions. Even worse, if your custom filters are accidentally deleted or lost in a hard drive crash, they could be gone forever.

If you use the AdBlock desktop extension on Chrome, Firefox, or Edge, you can turn all those custom filters into a filter list that you subscribe to, just like EasyList or any other "official" list. It's downloaded every time you launch your browser on any computer.

 

How to set up your personal filter list

Step 1: Get your custom filters into a text file

  1. Open any text editor and create a new file.

  2. Paste the following text at the beginning of the file. Copy the lines exactly as they appear here, and don't forget the exclamation point in the last line.
    [Adblock Plus 2.0]
    ! Version:
    ! Title:
    ! Last modified:
    ! Expires: 4 days (update frequency)
    ! Homepage:
    !

  3. Copy your custom filters and paste them after that last exclamation point.

  4. Save your file. Be sure it's in text-only format, and the name ends in ".txt" (for instance, "myfilters.txt").

  5. Upload the file to your Dropbox, Google Drive, or OneDrive.

First, get the public "anyone with the link can view" share link to your file. Then convert the public share link to a direct download link.

Why do you need this step? The share link you get in Step 1 is a "preview" link that opens. It is not the file itself, but a preview of the file. It's pretty easy to convert that preview link into a link that downloads the file directly. The procedure you'll use depends on where you stored the file.

Dropbox

We found these instructions in a Zapier tutorial.

  1. Point at the file in the Dropbox file listing and click the Share button that appears.

  2. If you don't see "Anyone with the link can view this file," click Link settings and select Anyone with the link next to "Who can view this link?"

  3. Click Copy link.

  4. Open any text editor and paste the link.

  5. Replace "http://www.dropbox.com " in the URL with "dl.dropboxusercontent.com."

  6. Copy the new URL to the clipboard.

Example

Here's what that looks like:

Original:
https://http://www.dropbox.com /s/az7bwstq2rb5kmm/adblock_custom.txt?dl=0

Use this instead:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/az7bwstq2rb5kmm/adblock_custom.txt?dl=0

Google Drive

We found these instructions in a post on the Digital Inspiration blog.

  1. Right-click the file in the Drive file listing and select Get shareable link.

  2. If link sharing is off, click the toggle switch to turn link sharing on.

  3. If you don't see "Anyone with the link can view," click Sharing settings, and then click the little down-pointing arrow to open the "who can access this file" list. Click More to see additional people you can give access to. Select On - Anyone with the link. Click Save, and then click Done.

  4. Click the share link to select it, and then press Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard.

  5. Open any text editor and paste the link.

  6. Replace "https://drive.google.com/file/d/FILE_ID/edit?usp=sharing " with "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=FILE_ID" where "FILE_ID" is the string that identifies the file.

  7. Copy the new URL to the clipboard.

Example

Here's what that looks like. The boldface text is the file ID.

Original:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxNyym5caOw6MjNrc2dVN2ZCRms/view?usp=sharing

Use this instead:
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0BxNyym5caOw6MjNrc2dVN2ZCRms

OneDrive

If your file is stored in OneDrive, you have an advantage. You can use a handy little tool called the OneDrive 2017 Direct File Download URL Maker, which creates the link for you! Remember to copy the final link to the clipboard.

Step 3: Subscribe to your brand-new personal filter list

  1. Click the AdBlock toolbar icon and click on the gear symbol.

  2. Select the Filter Lists tab.

  3. Under Custom Filter Lists, paste the direct download link in the space provided and click Subscribe.

 

Troubleshooting

If you see anything other than "Updated right now" after you've subscribed to your filter list, here are some things to check.

  • Be sure your file is plain text, with no formatting codes.

  • Be sure the file name ends in ".txt" (for example, myfile.txt).

  • Be sure the file follows the proper format for a filter list. See the example below.

  • Be sure to use the public share link, not one that only you or any particular person can view.

  • If your file is stored on Dropbox or Google Drive, be sure the edited URL is correct. See the examples in the appropriate section above.

What your filter list should look like:

[Adblock Plus 2.0]
! Version: 
! Title: My Personal Filter List
! Last modified: 
! Expires: 7 days (update frequency)
! Homepage: 
!
||taboola.com^
(all the rest of your custom filters)

You don't need to provide values for Version, Title, Last modified, Expires, or Homepage. You only need the keywords to be present in the file.