'Opt out from advertisers' won't work and won't turn off

[Amanda2]

I opted out from advertisers. My ad blocker blocked the site. I gave temporary access so the opting out would work. It appeared to work.

The next day, the same thing happened again. The sites opened, were blocked, got temporary access, appeared to work.

I no longer give temporary access. I am not giving permanent access to an ad site. I can turn opting out off if I remember to do it before it starts opting out. If I don't remember to turn it off every time I open my browser, it gets stuck on 'Opting out is in progress' and keeps trying until I close my browser.

I can add advertisers to opt out from (these look like the ones it doesn't work on), but I can't tell it not to opt out anymore.

Is there a way to make turning it off stick, or do I have to uninstall it as a broken extension?

[Asyn]

Provide details...

[Amanda2]

What kind of details would you like?

I opted out from advertisers. Despite letting the extension opt me out from advertisers, and sometimes having to manually opt out on the pages the extension opened, it keeps opening the same pages every day. These pages are blocked by my ad blocker, and I will not permanently allow them access to my computer. The opt-out settings will not stick.

Turning opting out also will not stick. I click the switch and it turns to red for off. The next time I open Chrome, it's turned on again. It again opens the same pages.

I would like to make the settings stick or I will have to remove the extension.

[Asyn]

What kind of details would you like?

- Which version/build of AOS..?
- Which browser & version..?
- OS..? (32/64 Bit..? - which SP/Build..?)
- Other security related software installed..?

[Amanda2]

I have version 21.0.101.

I am using Chrome Version 97.0.4692.71 (Official Build) (64-bit).

Windows 11 Home, 21H2. 64 bit (it happened on Windows 10 before I upgraded too)

My antivirus is Avast Premium Security. I have Avast Cleanup Premium. Microsoft Defender Antivirus and Microsoft Firewall are installed but turned off. For browser extensions, I have Adfly Skipper, Avast Passwords, FastForward (replaced Universal Bypass, happened with that too), and uBlock Origin.

[Asyn]

Hi, not using Chrome - wait for one of the devs and/or submit a ticket: https://support.avast.com/contact

[Amanda2]

Thank you for trying!

I'll have to wait, because the only options for this product are the forum or call them, and I can't sit on hold for hours.

[bob3160]

Opted out from what site? Have you contacted the site?

[Amanda2]

It says I have opted out from LiveRamp, Taboola, Tapad, Xandr, Artsai, Adara, Criteo, Oracle Advertising, and Microsoft.

It says I have kept 5 advertising companies: 33Across, Adform, Amazon, Flashtalking, and Apollo program. These are the sites that keep opening. From before I made the original post earlier today until now, the extension still says  'Opting out is in progress' with a spinning circle.

If I unblock these sites, I can manually opt out. I just want Avast to stop trying every day, and I can't get turning it off to stick. I don't think contacting these sites would change the behaviour of Avast Online Security & Privacy. If it does, that's a whole other problem.

[bob3160]

It says I have opted out from LiveRamp, Taboola, Tapad, Xandr, Artsai, Adara, Criteo, Oracle Advertising, and Microsoft.

It says I have kept 5 advertising companies: 33Across, Adform, Amazon, Flashtalking, and Apollo program. These are the sites that keep opening. From before I made the original post earlier today until now, the extension still says  'Opting out is in progress' with a spinning circle.

If I unblock these sites, I can manually opt out. I just want Avast to stop trying every day, and I can't get turning it off to stick. I don't think contacting these sites would change the behaviour of Avast Online Security & Privacy. If it does, that's a whole other problem.

What part of Avast are you using to opt out of these items? Screenshot might be helpful.

[Amanda2]

I am using the browser extension Avast Online Security & Privacy, under Ads Opt Out, started through one of the Privacy Advisor guides within the extension.

I hope the attachment works to share a screenshot.

[bob3160]

I am using the browser extension Avast Online Security & Privacy, under Ads Opt Out, started through one of the Privacy Advisor guides within the extension.

I hope the attachment works to share a screenshot.

For me it was able to opt-out 7 of the 14 trackers listed/
It took several tries to get to that 7.
I was able to opt out of 3 others on my own. 1 listed tracker led to a non existent
website. 2 sites had buttons to opt out that did not work and the last one
led you around in circles but I was never able to opt out.
Re-running the function after I had manually opted out, still reflected the same seven sites as
actively showing ads.
This doesn't solve the problem which is something Avast needs to address but hopefully
gives a further insight into this topic.

[r@vast]

Hi,

Our developers are looking into this issue.
For five brokers (33Across, Adform, Amazon, Apollo, Criteo), the issue is caused by interference from the uBlock Origin extension.
To successfully Opt-Out, we advise temporarily disabling the uBlock Origin:
Navigate to chrome://extensions/.
Disable the uBlock Origin.
Open a new tab and load any page.
Open the AOSP Extension and run the Opting Out Script.
The blocked brokers by the uBlock extension should finish.
Navigate back to chrome://extensions/.
Enable uBlock Origin again.

[bob3160]

Hi,

Our developers are looking into this issue.
For five brokers (33Across, Adform, Amazon, Apollo, Criteo), the issue is caused by interference from the uBlock Origin extension.
To successfully Opt-Out, we advise temporarily disabling the uBlock Origin:
Navigate to chrome://extensions/.
Disable the uBlock Origin.
Open a new tab and load any page.
Open the AOSP Extension and run the Opting Out Script.
The blocked brokers by the uBlock extension should finish.
Navigate back to chrome://extensions/.
Enable uBlock Origin again.

Followed those instructions and it worked for all but one - Artsi - Adaptive Marketing.
When I clicked on the link given for this vendor in the app, I received a 404 error code.
The link listed in the app for that site is https://artsai.com/privacy_policy/
Hope that helps and leads to a fix.

[rocksteady]

I get same result as bob reported, but also cannot get rid of Flashtalking in addition to Artsai. So I have 2 unwanted listed.