I have a small blog on Wordpress. I use it to tell a very select group of friends and family what’s going on with me. Very recently, advertisements have started appearing on my blog when others read it. I don’t see them.

Is there a way for me to stop this?

I remember when I started the blog, they asked me whether I wanted to “monetize” it, and I deliberately chose not to. I don’t want my few friends and family who read the posts to think I’m trying to make money off them.

Now, suddenly, there are ads.

Can I turn them off?

Yes, I’ve searched the site’s back end and been to the help section of Wordpress.

On the back end page, there is a new selection called “store” and one of the new things you can buy is the ability to turn off ads. It costs $30/year. Am I stuck with ads?