Several years ago I installed these programs on my laptop (‘downloaded these apps on my device’ would be the current argot I think) and they have made my digital life so much pleasanter.
Adblock Plus is a free extension that allows you to block annoying ads, also on YouTube, disable tracking and lots more. It’s available for all major desktop browsers and for your mobile devices.
SponsorBlock is a free and open-source crowdsourced browser extension and open API for skipping sponsor segments in YouTube videos.
Privacy Badger is an install-and-forget browser add-on that stops advertisers and trackers from secretly tracking where you go and what pages you look at on the web. If an advertiser or other third party seems to be tracking you across multiple websites without your permission, Privacy Badger automatically blocks them from loading any more content in your browser.
If this topic piqued your interest you could do worse than acquaint yourself with Shoshana Zuboff.
That's jolly useful. Thanks. And, yes, I'd recommend Shoshana Zuboff, too. The Age of Surveillance Capitalism is a great read.