Tips for reducing UI ads?

[CaseyDog]

(Pretext: I'm not sure how much, if any, of this stuff affects non-US accounts yet, though it's been stated that the plan is to bring it to most if not all other territories after "testing" here.)

I know that just about every corporate-designed UI is full of advertisements now but I draw the line at my game console, much less one I already spent $500 USD for.

In the most recent system update that added extendable PS5 game storage etc., on top of rearranging the explore tab that the console boots to no matter what that displays a giant 4K ad too quickly for you to scroll past (unless you're content to close your eyes with every boot) to alternate between posts from games you follow and "From PlayStation" at the top, there're now ads in the very first activity card upon opening the quick menu with the PS button.

I would mind significantly less if I at least only had to see posts from games I follow and thus have interest in, but even if you follow nothing you'll still get (to my knowledge/reckoning) the From PlayStation stuff about how The Critics Have Spoken On Thanos In Fortnite #EpicGamer.

Does anyone have any mitigations? I outright despise having to turn the thing on at this point. I'm also well aware that previous PS console UIs have ads but with the exception of the Vita TV they're far more contained and easy to ignore as opposed to literally having to close your eyes or squint away.

 

[BeanMKW]

I don't really know

 

[BlackZero500]

hmm. Not having those. At least not noticing anything. Maybe search in your Privacy settings and disable everything that personalizes ads and sends data and such?

 

[Joom]

For this, you're gonna want something that has DNS filtering at the network level. A PI-hole or something similar should suffice. You just need to sniff out the ad domains (or find them somewhere online), and then use a router or some other network level firewall to blacklist the domains. The added bonus is that other devices on your network will also have ad blocking.

 

[shorty_bobert]

I'd definitely try a pi-hole first because of all the added bonuses

 

[godreborn]

I have an idea that I just thought of, but I haven't tested if it works. you may be able to decrease the number of UI ads by unfollowing games. I'm not sure if the ps5 forces you to follow games by default, but they can be disabled. unfortunately, afaik, it can only be disabled per game as there's not an all feature. I have no idea if that would work or not, but it's an idea, I guess.

 

[godreborn]

alright, it worked, sorta. you can remove news and whatnot from games by going to save data and apps/features, and unfollowing all games. it does follow them automatically unfortunately, so you can just go through your list and unsubscribe to all. however, what it won't eliminate is the activity cards. I don't think there's any way to remove these even if you block things on your router, since they seem to be generated by the games themselves, such as trophies and synopses of your progress. I guess they're somewhat convenient, but they're so damn large that the screen looks extremely cluttered.

 

[CaseyDog]

hmm. Not having those. At least not noticing anything. Maybe search in your Privacy settings and disable everything that personalizes ads and sends data and such?

This stuff is currently only for US region accounts.

 

[CaseyDog]

alright, it worked, sorta. you can remove news and whatnot from games by going to save data and apps/features, and unfollowing all games. it does follow them automatically unfortunately, so you can just go through your list and unsubscribe to all. however, what it won't eliminate is the activity cards. I don't think there's any way to remove these even if you block things on your router, since they seem to be generated by the games themselves, such as trophies and synopses of your progress. I guess they're somewhat convenient, but they're so damn large that the screen looks extremely cluttered.

Did this work even for the "From PlayStation" ads for you? From what I can tell those're shown to you regardless of what games you follow, so I actually follow games I'm interested in to drown them out aha. Would rather know that before manually unfollowing everything.

 

[CaseyDog]

For this, you're gonna want something that has DNS filtering at the network level. A PI-hole or something similar should suffice. You just need to sniff out the ad domains (or find them somewhere online), and then use a router or some other network level firewall to blacklist the domains. The added bonus is that other devices on your network will also have ad blocking.

Unfortunately I don't have the proper hardware in my PC at the moment to set up Linux on top of Windows 10 but I'll absolutely keep this in mind.

Edit: Whoops, should've kept this all to one post, could a mod please merge these?

 

[godreborn]

Did this work even for the "From PlayStation" ads for you? From what I can tell those're shown to you regardless of what games you follow, so I actually follow games I'm interested in to drown them out aha. Would rather know that before manually unfollowing everything.

I haven't noticed any of those ads. the only things I've found after unfollowing everything was the trophy and progress report tiles, which I think are generated by the game and are not removable. I think sony calls them cards or something cards (maybe progress cards). I wish they were in a setting in that list of settings when you press the ps button, because they're so big and make things look cluttered. I like the smaller, curved icons of the ps5, and the little effect it does when you turn the system on or come back from rest mode, but most of the stuff with the system is horrible. no folders, no themes, ads everywhere, the microphone for the controller being on by default, etc. I mean what were they thinking!?

 

[CaseyDog]

I haven't noticed any of those ads. the only things I've found after unfollowing everything was the trophy and progress report tiles, which I think are generated by the game and are not removable. I think sony calls them cards or something cards (maybe progress cards). I wish they were in a setting in that list of settings when you press the ps button, because they're so big and make things look cluttered. I like the smaller, curved icons of the ps5, and the little effect it does when you turn the system on or come back from rest mode, but most of the stuff with the system is horrible. no folders, no themes, ads everywhere, the microphone for the controller being on by default, etc. I mean what were they thinking!?

Nope, still getting "From PlayStation" in the Explore Tab. Do you not have a US region account? That'll get you that tab and way more ads.

 

[godreborn]

Nope, still getting "From PlayStation" in the Explore Tab. Do you not have a US region account? That'll get you that tab and way more ads.

I do, just haven't seen those ads.

 

[Sypherone]

Like other sayed. Pihole as DNS filter on maybe Raspberry Zero. Other way would be, change the DNS resolver to one that has Addblock included or a configurable DNS resolver like OpenDNS. There is also a Pihole online DNS service.

 

[MaeReeves]

I agree with the others; I have never really had any trouble with UI ads.

 

[godreborn]

I think you can remove the from Playstation ads in settings, might be notifications. It's not in the same place as unfollowing games

 

[hadserub]

I agree with the others; I have never really had any trouble with UI ads. It depends on the kind of user interface you stumble upon, but I believe that companies think about this detail when they hire design or software engineers. The user interface is important to meet user expectations and support the effective functioning of your site. A well-executed user interface facilitates effective interaction between the user and the program, so I think it's incredibly essential for it to be aesthetically pleasing and functional and with a reduced number of ads.

 

[subcon959]

I think you can remove the from Playstation ads in settings, might be notifications. It's not in the same place as unfollowing games

I bet all you can do is choose not to have the ads personalised. I'd be amazed if they actually let you turn them off altogether.

 

[godreborn]

I bet all you can do is choose not to have the ads personalised. I'd be amazed if they actually let you turn them off altogether.

it's somewhat annoying when you come back from rest mode, and you have all these cards in your face. I kinda wish the ps menu wouldn't show up when you came back from rest mode. I've been playing tales of arise, and whenever you come back from rest mode, the game is on pause, so you have to press the ps button, then cross just to get back into the game. not overly frustrating, but I find it unnecessary having it do that.

 

[subcon959]

it's somewhat annoying when you come back from rest mode, and you have all these cards in your face. I kinda wish the ps menu wouldn't show up when you came back from rest mode. I've been playing tales of arise, and whenever you come back from rest mode, the game is on pause, so you have to press the ps button, then cross just to get back into the game. not overly frustrating, but I find it unnecessary having it do that.

I agree, it's a nitpick but it's super annoying it doesn't just put you back in the game.