What are commercial muting apps and are they safe to use?

Commercial muting apps silence ads on platforms like Spotify, YouTube, and more. They’re generally safe if you stick to trusted software and open-source scripts. But not all of them are, so it’s worth checking what the code actually does beforehand.

This guide explains what commercial muting apps are, how they work, and some potential risks of using them. You’ll also learn how to mute ads on popular services, what options exist for live TV, whether hardware solutions are worth it, and how such apps compare to ad-blockers.

What are commercial muting apps?

Commercial muting apps, scripts, and extensions do exactly what their name implies. That is, mute annoying ads on Spotify, YouTube, Twitch, and other streaming services, sparing your ears from hearing the same commercial for the 10th time that hour.

Alternatively, you can use them to mute ads but keep them running to support the creator or musician. Either way, they’re a solid alternative when regular ad-blockers don’t do the trick, whether it’s because:

• Google is doing its best to kill them on Chrome and Chromium-based browsers (e.g., Opera, Vivaldi). Most users won’t bother switching to Firefox, LibreWolf, or other non-Chromium options where extensions like uBlock Origin are effective.
• The service frequently makes interface changes to break ad-block filters.
• You can’t modify the app itself. Well, not without paying for premium so you can access their APIs, at least. But at that point, you wouldn’t have to deal with ads, anyway.

In any case, you can find such apps on the Google Play Store, your browser’s web store, or posted by users on Reddit, GitHub, and other forums. Read on for a breakdown on how they work.

How do commercial muting apps work?

Most commercial muting apps detect ads by watching for changes in track titles, metadata, browser elements, and so on. Then, they mute the system or the app until the ad is over.

For example, here’s part of a Spotify ad muting userscript that you can plug into Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey, or similar extensions.

It watches for changes in the player bar and looks for the “aria-label==Advertisement” element Spotify uses for ads. When it spots one, it clicks the volume button to mute. Once the ad ends, it unmutes everything again. Super basic, but it works—and all it’s doing is checking the page every few milliseconds, no hidden magic or sketchy permissions.

Another method involves automation scripts in Windows tools like AutoHotkey. The approach is pretty similar, and you can find muting scripts from other ad-averse users online. Or, you can create one yourself if you’re feeling up to it.

Chromium only: What to do after Tampermonkey support ends

With Chrome phasing out Manifest V2 extensions, popular userscript managers like Tampermonkey and Violentmonkey will soon stop working on Chromium browsers (Chrome 139 and later).

If you’re using browsers like Vivaldi, there’s a workaround: you can install userscripts manually without needing an extension. Here’s how:

1. Download the userscript file to a folder on your computer. No matter the script, the file should end in “user.js”.
2. You may need to restart the browser for the next steps to work.
3. Open your browser’s extensions page. The fastest way is to copy/paste chrome://extensions/ into your browser’s address bar and press Enter.
4. Enable Developer mode in the top right corner.
5. Drag and drop the userscript file onto the extensions page.
6. When prompted, choose Add extension.
7. The browser will ask you to review the script for safety. Click on the three dots on the right, then Keep this extension to finish up.

You can remove the script at any time by clicking Remove from the extension manager.

Are commercial muting apps safe to use?

Commercial muting apps and the software that runs such scripts are generally considered safe. At the very least, Tampermonkey and AutoHotkey have been around for well over a decade and are widely used by developers, hobbyists, and power users alike.

Now, the muting scripts themselves can be a mixed bag. There are plenty of safe examples like the one presented earlier. You can even inspect the code yourself—or ask someone more tech-savvy to look it over—just to be sure it’s not doing anything shady.

However, nothing’s stopping a seemingly harmless extension from turning malicious later. Spam companies frequently buy popular Chrome extensions and quietly turn them into adware that injects ads into users’ search results (or worse). All it takes is one sketchy update, and your browser’s doing things you never agreed to.

Only download apps from trusted stores, verify the code for any scripts you install, and keep an eye out for user reviews on all extensions you use, especially if you notice suspicious behavior like weird ad redirects, hijacked searches, and the like.

Other safety measures to consider while using commercial muting apps:

• Install a capable antivirus to detect malicious code and software.
• Use two-factor authentication to secure your accounts against unauthorized access.
• Avoid installing extensions that request permissions they clearly don’t need.
• Back up trusted versions of your scripts/extensions in case they get pulled or compromised.
• Use a separate browser profile to limit damage if an extension goes rogue. It might still get your Spotify or YouTube, but at least your bank, email, and other sensitive logins won’t be affected.

How to mute ads on Spotify, YouTube, and others

Finding an up-to-date commercial muting app or extension can be a bit of a pain, since developers may not always maintain them for too long. Luckily, we did the work for you. Here are some working scripts we’ve found during our research.

Mute Spotify ads

• Spotify Ad Muter: Free userscript you can install through Tampermonkey, Violentmonkey, or manually.
• SpotifyAdMute: AutoHotkey script that mutes Windows when it detects a Spotify ad playing. Use F4 to manually mute or unmute.
• Mutify: A completely free third-party app that mutes Spotify ads on Android.

Mute Ads on YouTube

Commercial muting apps for YouTube are more scarce, since Google’s a key player in the online ad game and has more incentive than most to stop users from dodging them. Here are some scripts and extensions that still get the job done:

• YouTube Mute and Skip Ads: Install the script in Violent/Tampermonkey to mute, blur, and speed up ads. On YouTube Music, this clicks “Yes” in “Are you there?” prompts. Some users mention they have to manually click “Skip Ad” occasionally.
• Mute YouTube ads: Firefox extension that mutes commercials on desktop.

Mute ads on Twitch

• Twitch Ad Muter: Browser extension for Chrome and Firefox for desktops. User reviews point out that it doesn’t mute pre-roll ads, but works for subsequent ads.
• Twitch – Mute ads and optionally hide them: Userscript that also lets you hide ads and change several other variables, like temporarily muting the player when loading a new stream before a pre-roll ad hits. Install manually or with Tamper/Violentmonkey.

Mute live TV commercials (YouTube TV, Hulu, ESPN+, and more)

Live Commercial Blocker, a lesser known extension for Firefox and Chrome, lets you block out commercials and play media from YouTube, Spotify, other tabs, and even your own MP4 files until the break ends.

It works by detecting changes in visuals or audio that usually signal a commercial break. You can choose between modes like missing channel logos, appearance of break-only graphics, or changes in audio volume. There’s also a manual toggle using keyboard shortcuts.

It works with most live TV providers, including ESPN+, YouTube TV, Hulu, and others—making it a great option for streaming sports without sitting through those loud medication ads you don’t want to hear during halftime.

The same person is working on using AI to detect and mute commercials on live TV. This particular script shrinks down screenshots of the stream and sends them to an AI model to figure out if it’s a commercial.

Can you auto-mute TV commercials?

There are no commercial muting apps built into TVs or streaming services. After all, If a TV auto-muted ads, advertisers wouldn’t want to pay to run them on that platform. This could lead to streaming apps being pulled from the TV altogether.

That said, there are workarounds, just not simple ones. Check out this guide on how to block ads with Raspberry Pi and Pi-hole. Though be warned: setting it up takes some technical know-how.

This method filters DNS requests at the network level, which can prevent certain ads from loading altogether. It won’t mute live TV commercials, but it can block a surprising number of streaming ads.

There’s also the roundabout way of streaming through devices like Roku TV or Amazon Fire TV, and blocking ads there. Here are some useful tutorials:

• How to block ads on Roku TV
• How to block ads on Firestick or Fire TV

Is there a device that automatically mutes TV commercials?

There have been a couple of devices that auto-mute ads, but most aren’t useful anymore. For example, MuteMagic could mute during commercial breaks by reading volume changes or composite video signals. But it only works with older gear, so it’s useless with modern TVs, HDMI, or streaming boxes.

The MuteDaddy takes a different approach. It’s a separate remote with a built-in mute timer. You press it when an ad starts, and it unmutes the TV after 30-second increments (per press). It doesn’t detect anything on its own, but it’s fine if you just want a simple workaround.

Other options go deep into hobbyist territory. Take this fellow, who used his old Samsung S7 phone as a webcam to detect on-screen ad timers using a Python script with OpenCV for image recognition. The script mutes the TV via SmartThings when commercials start, and unmutes it when they end.

If all this is starting to sound like wizardry, don’t sweat it. You can always mute the TV the old-fashioned way.

Read more: How to stop your smart TV from spying on you

Commercial muting app vs ad-blocker: Which is best?

Ad-blockers are the go-to solution for many users, and for good reason. They stop ads from ever showing up in the first place, saving bandwidth and keeping your screen clean. Tools like uBlock Origin work great on YouTube and other sites, as long as the platform and your browser let them (which they usually don’t).

That’s where commercial muting apps step in. They don’t block the ads; they just silence them. This makes them much harder to detect or break, especially when you’re stuck using a Chromium-based browser or a desktop/mobile app you can’t modify.

Ad-blockers still have the upper hand when they do work, since they deal with both the ad and the wasted time. Unfortunately, that’s getting harder. Google’s ongoing push for Manifest V3 is steadily kneecapping extensions like uBlock Origin on Chromium browsers, and most people aren’t jumping ship to Firefox just to keep full functionality.

Meanwhile, sites like YouTube are constantly tweaking their interface to break filter lists, forcing the uBlock community into a cat-and-mouse game to keep up. Muting apps don’t rely on those filters, so they’re usually more stable.

That said, you don’t have to pick one or the other. You can run a muting script or extension alongside your regular ad-blocker. One handles what the other can’t, and you end up with fewer interruptions either way.

Commercial muting apps FAQs