EZBlocker 2

Spotify ads get pretty annoying after a while, which is why users who aren’t prepared to get a Premium subscription often rely on third-party ad blockers. EZBlocker, by Eric Zhang, is perhaps the most popular one, but it has not been updated for quite some time.

EZBlocker 2 is a similar program that can be seen as the original project’s unofficial successor. It can mute audio ads that are sometimes played in Spotify, as well as remove advertisement banners.

If you’re using Spotify Free, you have to accept the fact that your playlists will occasionally be interrupted by either product ads or Premium reminders. These can get quite irritating after a while, and they can break the flow of an album.

EZBlocker 2 helps you out by detecting when an ad is being played and muting Spotify for the duration. The advertisement can’t be skipped entirely, but a short pause is very unobtrusive, so much so that you are likely not to notice it at all.

However, it is necessary to authorize the application by logging in to Spotify via a web browser on every launch. This workaround was introduced after the old method stopped working with the latest Spotify updates, but it is clearly not an ideal solution.

When you’re browsing through your playlists or looking for new songs, you are sure to notice the advertisement banners displayed by the desktop client. They are not horribly intrusive, but they can still get in your way.

This application gets around them by applying hosts patches to your system, which is why administrative rights are required for this action. Once the patches are applied, banners will no longer be displayed.

EZBlocker 2 is very easy to configure, and you can just send it to the system tray once everything has been set up. The user interface isn’t exactly impressive, but you are probably just going to leave the application running in the background anyway.

Since it does not need to be installed before use, this program is very easy to set up. However, while it is portable, you will need administrative rights on the system in order to block ad banners.

In short, EZBlocker 2 is a great application for Spotify Free users, enabling you to both mute audio ads and remove ad banners. It offers more or less the same features as the original project, EZBlocker, while also being regularly updated. However, the fact that you have to authorize it on every launch is a pretty big downside.