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Simple, free and efficient ad-blocker and privacy guard for Windows, macOS and Linux
Zen: Your Comprehensive Ad-Blocker and Privacy Guard
There is, simply, no way, to ignore privacy. Because a citizenry’s freedoms are interdependent, to surrender your own privacy is really to surrender everyone’s.Edward Snowden, Permanent Record
Zen is an open-source system-wide ad-blocker and privacy guard for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It works by setting up a proxy that intercepts HTTP requests from all applications, and blocks those serving ads, tracking scripts that monitor your behavior, malware, and other unwanted content. By operating at the system level, Zen can protect against threats that browser extensions cannot, such as trackers embedded in desktop applications and operating system components. Zen comes with many pre-installed filters, but also allows you to easily add hosts files and EasyList-style filters, enabling you to tailor your protection to your specific needs.
Downloads
During the first run, Zen will prompt you to install a root certificate. This is required for Zen to be able to intercept and modify HTTPS requests. This certificate is generated locally and never leaves your device.
Windows
- x64: 💾 Installer | 📦 Portable
- ARM64: 💾 Installer | 📦 Portable
Unsure which version to download? Click on 'Start' and type 'View processor info'. The 'System type' field under 'Device specifications' will tell you which one you need.
macOS
- x64 (Intel): 💾 Installer | 📦 Portable
- ARM64 (Apple Silicon): 💾 Installer | 📦 Portable
Unsure which version to download? Learn at Apple's website.
Linux
- AUR: 👾 zen-adblocker-bin
- x64: 📦 Portable
Zen is currently only supported on GNOME-based desktop environments.
Screenshots
Request history | Filter list manager |
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Request history shows all requests blocked by Zen. Each request can be inspected to see which filter and rule blocked it. | Zen comes with many pre-installed filters. You can also add your own by providing a URL to a hosts file or an EasyList-style filter. |
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Running & Building
Zen is based on Wails, a framework for building desktop applications using Go and web technologies. Follow the installation instructions to install it on your system. Use wails build
to build Zen, and wails dev
to run it in development mode.
License
This project is licensed under the MIT License. Some code and assets included with Zen are licensed under different terms. For more information, see the COPYING file.