Zen: System-wide open source ad-blocker for Windows, macOS, and Linux

Zen blocks ads and trackers across browsers and desktop apps. For Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Download for Windows

Download for macOS

Download for Linux

Download Zen Other platforms

Free and open source (MIT)

90,000+ downloads

v0.28.0, 22 October 2026

Works with

Replay 28 blocked

hj2bd2l1dv.kameleoon.io AdGuard Spyware filter ||kameleoon.io^

cdn.cookielaw.org EasyPrivacy /OtAutoBlock.js

experiments.parsely.com EasyPrivacy ||experiments.parsely.com^

ak.sail-horizon.com Dan Pollock's hosts file ||ak.sail-horizon.com^$document

507b28fb-2ef1-4c34-8bda-ba32030bb199.edge.permutive.app AdGuard Spyware filter ||permutive.app^$third-party

www.dianomi.com EasyList ||dianomi.com^$document

tru.am EasyPrivacy ||tru.am^

a.pub.network EasyList ||pub.network^

s.ntv.io Dan Pollock's hosts file ||s.ntv.io^$document

www.googletagmanager.com AdGuard Spyware filter ||googletagmanager.com/gtm.js$third-party

dualping.com EasyPrivacy ||dualping.com^

tag.wknd.ai AdGuard Spyware filter ||tag.wknd.ai^$third-party

html-load.cc EasyList ||html-load.cc^

dabapa4653a.dev EasyList ||dabapa4653a.dev^

gebaqi9c902.com EasyList ||gebaqi9c902.com^

cdn.jsdelivr.net EasyList /ad-shield/e/*$script,third-party

cdn.statically.io EasyList ||cdn.statically.io/gh/ad-shield/

rawcdn.githack.com EasyList /ad-shield/e/*$script,third-party

bbcdn.githack.com EasyList /ad-shield/e/*$script,third-party

live.primis.tech EasyList ||live.primis.tech^$third-party

i.viafoura.co EasyPrivacy ||i.viafoura.co^

ssl.p.jwpcdn.com EasyPrivacy /gapro.js

cd.connatix.com EasyList ||connatix.com^$third-party,domain=~accuweather.com|~businessinsider.de|~bz-berlin.de|~cheddar.tv|~deadline.com|~elnuevoherald.com|~finanzen.net|~fitbook.de|~heraldsun.com|~hollywoodreporter.com|~huffpost.com|~lmaoden.tv|~loot.tv|~miamiherald.com|~myhomebook.de|~olhardigital.com.br|~petbook.de|~sacbee.com|~stylebook.de|~techbook.de|~travelbook.de|~welt.de

imasdk.googleapis.com EasyList ||imasdk.googleapis.com^

apnews.com AdGuard Spyware filter ||apnews.com/blaize/datalayer

placement-prd.jwpltx.com EasyPrivacy /ping.gif?

pagead2.googlesyndication.com Dan Pollock's hosts file ||pagead2.googlesyndication.com^$document

prd.jwpltx.com AdGuard Spyware filter ||jwpltx.com^$third-party

Requests blocked by Zen while loading a mainstream news website.

The internet, minus the noise

Zen blocks ads and other clutter. What's left is the page you came for.

Outside the browser too

Desktop apps send telemetry and play ads as well. Zen filters their traffic the same way it filters your browser's.

Chrome Slack VS Code Spotify

Ads and trackers Web pages

Tracking Messages

Telemetry Extensions

Audio ads Music

How it works

A proxy on your computer

Zen starts a proxy server locally and sets it as the system proxy. Browsers and most apps send their traffic through it.

Requests to ad, tracking, and malware servers are blocked. On web pages, Zen also hides empty ad slots and runs small scripts that disable ads and tracking built into the page.

Zen makes its decisions on your computer. It does not collect your browsing data or send it anywhere.

About the root certificate

During the first run, Zen will prompt you to install a local root certificate. This enables HTTPS filtering so Zen can block ads and trackers on encrypted connections. The certificate and its private key are generated locally on your device and never leave it. You can remove the certificate from Zen's settings at any time. Read the security architecture

Zen ships with filter lists for ads, trackers, and malware enabled. There are 35 regional lists for sites in other languages. You can add any list in ad-block or hosts format, or write your own rules:

! Block a tracker ||scorecardresearch.com^$third-party

! Hide an element example.com##.sponsored-banner

Download

Latest release: v0.28.0, 22 October 2026

x64

ARM64

WinGet (community)

Not sure which one? Open Settings → System → About and check 'System type'.

Apple silicon

Intel

Homebrew

Not sure which one? Open Apple menu → About This Mac. 'Chip' means Apple silicon, 'Processor' means Intel.

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/irbis-sh/zen-desktop/master/install.sh | sh

Copy install command

x64 portable

ARM64 portable

AUR

Nix

Zen configures the system proxy automatically on GNOME and KDE. For other desktop environments, see the proxy setup guide.

Zen is MIT-licensed and developed in public. 31 people have contributed code and filter rules.

Each works at a different level. Extensions filter inside one browser. DNS blockers refuse to resolve whole domains. Zen filters individual HTTP(S) requests for the whole system.

All major browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, and Brave. Also desktop apps that use the system proxy settings. Apps with their own networking stack or certificate pinning bypass Zen or need to be excluded in its settings.

Sometimes. A filter rule can block something a site needs. When that happens, exclude the site or the app in Zen's settings, or turn off the filter list that caused it.

Zen adds a small amount of local processing to each request. In return, pages make fewer requests, because ad and tracking scripts are never downloaded.

Yes, with any VPN on Windows and Linux, and with most VPNs on macOS. If you run into problems, ask on Discord.

Zen is developed by Irbis, a small independent organisation that believes ad-blocking and privacy protection should be free for everyone. Zen will never have a price tag, ads of its own, or any interest in your data. If you'd like to support the work, you can donate via Open Collective.