Oddly enough, it's installing more things that often lightens things up.
I'll assume you are using Android for this, and give you a tutorial on them.
Browser:
You could go with Brave or Firefox+Ublock Origin. Firefox is it's own, mature browser, and allows extentions/add-ons. One such extension is Ublock Origin, a powerful ad blocking extension. You aren't really installing a new app with that, just a little script to run on top of the browser. This blocks tons, I mean tons, of ads.
Brave is a browser built on a Chrome base, which was designed when the CEO of the company making Mozilla got put the pasture. It blocks a ton of ads by design, it's built around it. It still has ads to support itself, so it doesn't block as many ads as Firefox+Ublock Origin, but it blocks a lot.
To install Firefox, search for it in the Google Play Store.
To install Ublock Origin, search for 'firefox android ublock origin' in the search engine, and click and install extension. Or, use this direct link:
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/android/addon/ublock-origin/
To install Brave, search for it in the Google Play Store.
Search Engine:
Brave allows you to pick DuckDuckGo when setting up app.
In Firefox, open app, click three circles. Click Settings. Click Search. Click DuckDuckGo. Click Set as Default.
VPN:
Not required, but encrypts your data, protecting you when using public wifi. Or if you're super paranoid, and think ze government is out to getya, and is using a stingray on you.
NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN are three large, respected VPN's.
Youtube Vanced:
This seems counter-intuitive I know, but hear me out. Ever been using your phone, and the youtube app pops up for the video, and has tons of ads?
Youtube Vanced is the youtube app, but with all the ads stripped out. This way, you don't have annoying ads every video.
https://www.xda-developers.com/youtube-vanced-apk/
To make Youtube Vanced the default app over youtube, Open Settings->Apps & Notifications-> See all apps - > Youtube Vanced -> Advanced - >Open by default -> Select 'open supported links' and 'supported links' to use this app.