XLess: Auto-Close Intrusive Full-Screen Ads

Hides only intrusive full-screen ads and overlays, so you stop hunting for the “×”. Regular ads stay, and layouts stay intact.

You open an article, and an ad instantly covers the whole screen. You hunt for the tiny close button, miss it, and end up on another page. XLess is a Chrome extension that automatically hides only those intrusive full-screen ads and page-blocking overlays. It’s built for people who’d rather not use an ad blocker but are fed up with hunting for the “×”. Regular in-page ads stay visible, letting you support the sites you love and read as usual. REGULAR ADS STAY WHERE THEY ARE • Keep supporting sites: Because regular ads stay visible, you can keep supporting the sites you visit, just as before • Layouts stay intact: Since ad slots aren’t removed, you won’t see the awkward blank gaps or broken layouts often caused by ad blockers • Fewer ad-blocker warnings: Because XLess doesn’t block network requests for ads, you’re much less likely to run into “please disable your ad blocker” messages Note: By default, XLess does mute sudden audio and pause flashing animations on regular ads too. You can turn this off in Settings. HIDES ONLY THE ADS THAT GET IN THE WAY • Ads that cover the screen: Full-screen ads that pop up the moment you click a link, such as Google Vignettes and Ad Manager interstitials. XLess either dismisses them before they load or hides them instantly, taking you straight to the link you clicked • Ads you can’t get past: Automatically triggers the built-in close button on “watch an ad to earn a reward” dialogs and hides them from view • Back-button hijacking: Prevents scripts from hijacking your browser’s Back button to trap you on ad pages • Other full-screen ads: Detects and hides full-screen ads from various other networks, including major Japanese ad networks • Overlays on the article: Hides full-screen prompts asking you to watch ads or disable your ad blocker to read an article. It never fetches restricted content from servers or alters account access • Back to normal afterwards: Fixes the annoying side effects these ads often leave behind, like locked scrolling, unresponsive clicks, and blurred text FULL CONTROL, ALWAYS ONE CLICK AWAY • See what was hidden, at a glance: The toolbar icon shows how many ads were hidden on the current tab. Check the details via the popup or a persistent side panel, and exclude any site with a single click • Missed one? Click it away: If an annoying ad slips through, remove it manually using the element picker, the right-click menu, or the emergency shortcut (Alt+Shift+X). You can undo removals anytime. If you hide the same element repeatedly, XLess will offer to turn it into a rule • Fine-tune all 17 detection rules: Toggle each rule individually, view its false-positive risk, and see how often it triggers. For anything automatic detection misses, you can also add custom per-site rules (CSS selectors) • English and Japanese: The interface automatically matches your Chrome display language PRIVACY All ad detection happens locally on your computer, and your browsing data is never sent to the developer. XLess has no built-in analytics or ads. Settings and the log of what was hidden stay strictly in Chrome’s local storage, and you can pause or clear the log at any time. No account is required. If you add custom CSS that references external URLs, your browser may request those resources. PERMISSIONS • All websites: Full-screen ads can appear on any site. Page elements are inspected strictly on your device, and page content is never sent anywhere • Storage: Saves settings and the local log • Scripting: Registers bundled scripts and applies your custom CSS rules • Context menus: Lets you hide elements and exclude sites from the right-click menu (can be turned off in Settings) • Favicon: Shows site icons in the controls and the log • Side panel: Keeps the controls open beside the page Website behavior varies, and some ads may not be detected. If a page doesn’t look right, exclude that site from the popup or turn off the relevant detection rule. The screenshots use fictional demonstration pages, but the extension controls shown are real.