Stephen Headrick / Android Authority
I hate ads. But I love Google. What a conundrum. We live in an online world that largely runs on ads, and I think it’s important to have this option so that products can continue to be used for free by the majority of the world. In fact, the free website you’re currently visiting to read these words right now is largely powered by ads. Again, this is a vital part of the internet being what it is today. I think it’s safe to say, however, that we are long overdue for an ad-free option from Google.
Would you pay for an ad-free Google experience? 25 votes Yes, take my money, Google! 24 % Yes, but only at the right price 36 % No, I sometimes like ads and click on them 4 % Absolutely not 36 %
Google already wrote the playbook
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Look no further than Google’s own YouTube for the perfect playbook. I haven’t seen an ad on YouTube in years, and I really hope I never have to go back. To me, YouTube Premium is the most value-packed subscription I pay for, especially because I also use YouTube Music, which is included in the price, but primarily because I don’t see a single ad when perusing through videos.
YouTube has skippable ads, which usually require you to watch the ad for around five seconds before you can skip it. Occasionally, you get a 30-second non-skippable ad. Often, a video will have multiple ads in the same video. These relatively short moments add up over time, and I’m extremely grateful to have YouTube Premium so I don’t have to spend my precious downtime being advertised to. Considering that YouTube is the primary streaming platform I use on a daily basis, this subscription is more than worth the cost to me. But there’s always the regular ad-supported version of YouTube, which is likely what the majority of people use, free of charge.
I haven't seen an ad on YouTube in years. The same in Gmail and Search would be the ultimate Google One experience.
With YouTube in mind, Google already knows how to make an ad-free experience work. Now I want to see it take what it’s learned and apply it to all its services. I’ll gladly upgrade my YouTube Premium subscription to a higher price if that means I can bundle all of my Google services into one ad-free, subscription-supported experience. Better yet, Google already offers a subscription called Google One, which includes Google Drive storage and Gemini features. I would like to see a new tier of Google One, which would include this ad-free experience across not only YouTube, but also Search, Gmail, and anywhere else you might see an ad from Google. That sounds like the ultimate “Google One” experience, if you ask me.
What would an ad-free Google look like? Have you ever smashed that delete button in your Gmail inbox as you quickly glance at subject lines in case there’s an important email, only to click on a sponsored email? The delete button on a normal email is in a different location compared to the delete button on a sponsored email, almost as if some Google product manager intentionally designed this to make you click on the sponsored email. I just want to get through these emails, Google! This is such a frustrating experience, and it’s happened to me more times than I’d like to remember.
Stephen Headrick / Android Authority Why is this delete button in two different spots?
It’s pretty simple to imagine an ad-free Gmail. The ads look very native to Gmail, but the biggest inconvenience is the aforementioned placement of the delete button on a sponsored email vs a regular email. The idea of never running into that again has me reaching for my Google Wallet. And here’s the thing: this may actually make Google more money.
I rarely, if ever, click on an ad in Gmail — intentionally, anyway — which means they’re making less money off of me than someone who does click on ads more frequently. But if I’m paying a subscription to remove those ads, then Google would likely have it priced in a way that allows them to make a similar amount of profit off of me, the non-ad-clicking user, as opposed to a user who does click ads and doesn’t pay for a subscription.
An ad-free Google sounds nice, but let’s make this a no-brainer
Joe Maring / Android Authority
If Google really wants to make this subscription a no-brainer, it would include additional premium features in the ad-free experience. In order not to confuse users with too many subscription options, the easiest way to add this offering to the line-up would be to tie it into the existing Google One bundle. Google One already gets you access to Gemini across Google Docs and Gmail, premium calling features with Google Meet, 10% back on Google Store purchases, and appointment scheduling in Calendar.
In a perfect world, I would like to see a Google One tier that includes an ad-free Gmail and YouTube Premium, along with the already-included benefits, all within one subscription. It’s called Google One, so make it the one and only subscription you need from Google.
I would like to see a Google One tier that includes an ad-free Gmail and YouTube Premium.
However, Let’s imagine that Google finds a good reason not to include this subscription in Google One. There’s still a way for this to work, perhaps at a cheaper subscription cost. Let’s call this one Gmail Premium, to keep the branding in line with Google’s YouTube Premium and Fitbit Premium offerings.
In addition to removing ads, this subscription could offer a whole multitude of very useful features. The most obvious would be the Gemini integration you see with Google One or Google Workspace. In addition, Gmail Premium should open up customization options to its users. Allow us to customize categories in our inbox, instead of only allowing use of the Primary, Promotions, Social, and Updates categories. It could also allow for more detailed visual customizations with fonts and colors throughout Gmail. These features, in addition to removing ads, would go a long way in rounding out a Gmail Premium offering.
Here’s the cherry on top
Stephen Headrick / Android Authority Google’s services are cross-platform, and I’d bet a lot of iOS users would love a Gmail Premium-like service.
Since Google is truly cross-platform — one of my favorite things about Google, honestly — it can surely count on a number of iPhone-wielding Google-service-users to buy into such a subscription to have a nicer Gmail and Google experience on their Apple devices. And what do we know, statistically speaking, about Apple users? They spend more money on subscriptions than Android users, by far. What else do we know? They really appreciate a clean user experience. Allowing users to upgrade to remove ads would be a major draw to Apple users who just want to check their email and use other Google services in peace.
Why wouldn’t Google want to do this? An ad-free Gmail technically exists, and it’s called Google Workspace. Perhaps that’s why I’m writing this article in the first place, because I’ve used Workspace in the past, and I’d love to have a similar experience in my personal inbox. But Workspace is intended for and caters to business users. Google might be surprised just how many people would love the option to hand over some hard-earned cash in exchange for fewer ads in our day-to-day lives.
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