Ad blocking is an essential experience for many people. Bad publicity can ruin experiences left and right, especially when browsing the web, playing games, or watching video content. Of course, there's a necessary perverse aspect to all of this, but people still use ad blockers anyway. There are several ways to block ads on your Android device with at least some capability. The most comprehensive ad blockers require root or somewhat difficult configurations. Here are the best apps to block ads on Android.
Ad blocking apps are usually not in the Play Store. So, most of the apps on the list require third party download and installation. We had no problem doing this, but you may be a bit worried. Also, more and more sites and services allow payment instead of advertising. We recommend excessive ad blocking because it allows creators of the content you love to continue doing so while earning a living. Just a thought.
The best apps to block ads on Android
Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus is one of the most popular ad blocking apps. It works on both rooted and unrooted devices, although non-root users have some extra work to do. The app works in the background and filters web traffic almost identically to its web browser extension. Basically, you open it once, install it, and then run it on its own in the background. That is just about everything. Press the button to access the official website with instructions for installing and configuring Adblock Plus on rooted and non-rooted devices.
DOWNLOAD ADBLOCK PLUS
AdAway
AdAway is a simple app to block ads. It uses a modified hosts file to send all ad requests to 12.0.0.1. In other words, the request goes nowhere and you don't see any ads. The app supports modified or custom host files or you can download a basic one from the app itself. Host files are stored in a read-only part of the Android system. That means root is required for this one. You can donate if you want, but the whole app works for free. The only two downsides are that you have to download them from F-Droid, not the Play Store, and you need root access. Root users can still edit host files themselves without an app if they want.
DOWNLOAD ON F-DROID
AdGuard
AdGuard is another ad blocker app. We hadn't heard much about it before posting this article, but it seemed to work well for us. The application blocks advertisements in the same way as Adblock Plus. AdGuard works as a background service and filters web traffic. It works without root, but it does require a bit of extra configuration. It also keeps tabs on all of your web traffic, similar to apps like GlassWire. You also get an aesthetic material design UI to put everything together. The free version blocks ads in web browsers only. You also get the premium AdGuard version for your Windows PC or Mac.
UPLOAD ON ADGUARDBrowsers with ad-block
There are many browsers with ad-block. These browsers filter most ad traffic or at least the most offensive ad traffic. Google Chrome has blocked ad serving, but it continues to display ads that are less offensive to the viewer while leaving a few so sites can still make money. We recommend this as a middle ground (for obvious reasons). Brave Browser, Firefox Focus, Kiwi Browser, Samsung Browser, and a few others have add-ons such as Firefox and Dolphin Browser. Pick the one that you think will do the best for you.
DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY
Block This
Block This is not the most popular ad blocker app on the list. However, it is efficient, open source and free. This app uses the same VPN style setup as Adblock Plus and AdGuard. However, Block This uses DNS blocking instead of a filter. The developer claims that this method uses less battery than standard ad blocker apps because most of the work is done before the data reaches your Android device. There are pros and cons to using this approach. For now, we still recommend something like AdBlock Plus or an ad-blocking browser. However, we quite like the idea.
DOWNLOAD BLOCK THIS
If we missed any of the apps to block ads on Android, tell us about it in the comments.
