How to block all ads on android

Ads have become a part of our everyday life, and are nearly inescapable. But it doesn’t need to be like this and there are ways to minimize your exposure to them. Today we are looking at solutions you can employ to rid your phone of cumbersome ads, particularly ones that are particularly invasive to your privacy or your phone usage experience.

How to block ads on Android

Before we proceed, it is worth mentioning that the solutions outlined here are for everyone – from beginners to more advanced users. In addition, while there are a plethora of apps out there, they more or less do the same thing as all the others in the Google Play Store, and similar to a password manager, it’s up to your own volition of finding one you like and sticking to it.

In addition, none of these solutions will block YouTube ads if you’re using Google’s own YouTube app. Google has changed the code of the app to prevent other apps from interfering with this.

Blokada

This is a standard app that creates a virtual DNS for you, similar to a VPN. It works by filtering the traffic coming into your phone and stopping ads. There is also a good variety of options should you opt for this, with Blokada being a dedicated APK file that you have to install manually (follow our guide here) if you want the complete package offered by Blokada for Android.

If you want to stay away from sideloading an APK, you can opt for Blokada Slim on the Google Play Store. If for some reason you are on a very old version of Android (Android 6 or below), Blokada 4 for Android will help you with older Android devices.

We can confidently say that Blokada’s full package is definitely worth it, as it works with all browsers and does a superb job of blocking ads. Blokada Slim is a hit or miss, but for some users, it could be the right package. The only drawback of the app is that it will actively consume resources and battery when it is being used.

In addition, the team behind Blokada is located in Sweden, and this means that they have to follow stricter laws with regard to protecting their user’s privacy, so even if do see the little notification that your traffic may be monitored, you can rest assured that all privacy-oriented practices, particularly with GDPR are being followed.

NextDNS

This is a sophisticated and perhaps a bit more advanced method of preventing ads on your network. If you are a complete novice in the world of networking and have no idea what any of the details mean when you click on Try it now, we recommend contacting an expert or trying the other methods in this guide.

NextDNS offers a firewall and a private DNS service, and once you create an account, you can enter an entirely new world of options with regards to empowering your ad blocking capabilities. You can block specific ad networks, and pre-installed ads from OEMs like Samsung and Xiaomi if you get them, and this is by far the best and most recommended method of getting rid of ads on your device without having a resource-draining app on your device.

The options for NextDNS carry over for Android and Windows, but if you do the Windows one and are able to configure your router to follow it, the service will be able to block all traffic on all connected devices.

Along with the complex offering, the app and service are free to use until 300,000 queries per month. After that, you have to upgrade. 300,000 queries per month will be a tough barrier to break unless you have a family that is using multiple devices at once, or are in an office. Otherwise, if your internet is only used by one to two people, that number is very hard to break, especially if you’re already using Adblock Plus on your browser and are just looking to block ads on your phone.

Switching to a privacy browser

Another alternative solution for users is switching to a new browser. With Firefox Focus, Adblock Browser, OperaGX, and a lot of other browsers that now offer built-in ad blocking, you don’t have to worry about subscribing to anything or enabling a virtual DNS service.

All of the browsers offer seamless and easy methods of importing all your browsing data over from your default web browser, whether it’s Samsung Internet or Google Chrome. While the move could be difficult, you will have peace of mind when browsing. There are also no worries about fees or another premium service that you are subscribing to.

Setting your own DNS on your phone

We covered this in a previous guide, but this is also another simple and effortless solution. All you have to do is open the Setting on your phone, navigate to Network & Internet, and look for Private DNS. Here are a few free DNS to help you get started:

Keep in mind that each of these DNS addresses may or may not be able to block 100% of ads while browsing on your phone.