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Android @lemmy.world

blazeknave @lemmy.world

1y ago

What's the go to ad blocker for Android these days?

44 comments

If you don't want to use DNS for whatever reason. Then Firefox/Mull with Ublock origin for the browser only
- Why not both?

ublock origin on Firefox, VPN that blocks ads, plus most apps I install without network permission

If you have root, then AdAway: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.adaway/
- I use it without root and it's fine. Not perfect, but at least you can disable it if you have to without rebooting your phone
  
  I use it with root, disabling it and reenabling it doesn't require me to reboot my phone...

I still use AdAway with root
- This, plus uBlock Origin, plus the pihole on my home LAN to which I am normally tethered via Wireguard when not on my hone wifi.
  Many layers, make ogre stronk
- I got a new phone; first one I didn't root, but god do I miss AdAway...
  
  When I first bought the pixel 8 pro I tried to see if I could go without rooting. I came to my senses within a week

nextdns.io

Adguard dns and ublock origin in Firefox.

dns.adguard-dns.com
- Adguard's default blocklist doesn't block many in-app ads sdk. Make sure to add some 3rd party block list like Steven Black's.

dns.adguard.com
- It should actually be dns.adguard-dns.com, per the official documentation
  
  The former has been working fine for me, but I'll change it to your suggestion if I experience any problems.

base.dns.mullvad.net

Rethink DNS is an amazing app if you're on android. Highly worth giving a shot! Even for the peeps on other solutions.
https://rethinkdns.com/

Blokada 5 has been very nice to me, no root, and doesn't use much battery (android tells me 4% after a full day). Only downside is that it counts as a VPN connection, so if you want to connect to another VPN you have to turn it off temporarily.
Otherwise definitely Firefox with ublock origin

ublock is the only real answer for browser . Idk where else ads appear on android only heard of em never seen em.

Vpn adblocker like using protonvpn with netshield to block ads and malware. Also, you can can put ublock origin in any firefox based browser like Mull and Fennec

I've been using DNS 66 for a while with no complaints.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/org.jak_linux.dns66/
- Thanks! Been needing this
- Can you use a VPN at the same time as DNS66?

Set your DNS to AdGuard servers. Downloads the Mull Browser from F-Droid with the uBlockOrigin addon, so you can browse the internet without ads. Download a Firewall: Netguard is recommended. Apps that don't have internet can't load ads.
If you have root: Firewall: AfWall+ Also, use the app "App Manager" from F-Droid to disable all app components that have "ad" in their name.
With this multi-layer approach you'll deal with 99.99% of ads

When I'm outside my home network, I rely on Tracker Control (installed via F-Droid) for most traffic. And the usual uBlock Origin and such for my mobile Firefox browser.

Firefox + ublock + NextDNS
Also Revanced manager is good at removing placeholders of ads that don't load in apps

I use a VPN that has an ad blocker built in, like Mozilla, that blocks all the normal apps even without root.
Then I use Firefox with uBlock Origin for web browsing.
- Mozzila has a vpn ?
  
  https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/products/vpn/
  Yeah, it piggybacks on Mullvad VPN, which is good and bad.
  Very privacy focused, but there's no Port Forwarding, so it can be a little limiting for things like seeding torrents.

I use uBlock on Firefox and the blocking DNS with AirVPN.

Blokada 5 here. It works well enough even with the glitching.
- That doesn't sound good at all
- I stopped using blokada after it started massively draining my battery in the background.
  
  I get random freezes and have to clear data eventually to get it working right again. But it mostly works.

Not using Google Play services

I may be a crazy old bastard but I have never used an ad blocker. I just use plain simple blacklists. Too many ads or obtrusive ads go on the list and I just don't see those sites anymore. Otherwise I'm fine with ads.
- Yeah but... a block list is just another blocker. The real question is how you're implementing it?
  Android's host file protection makes it impossible to modify without root.
  
  Man, you tech guys. My block list is in my head.
- I assume you're adding the blacklist into your host file? How big is your block file? I remember one think that finally pushed me to use pihole and adguard a few years ago was due to my large host file causing >1s dns lookup time. Moving to pihole improved performance significantly in my case. Not sure if OS these days can handle large host file without huge performance impact though.

44 comments