Ad blocking for Android. Choosing an ad blocker for Android devices: AdAway, AdFree and Adblock Plus

Android is the most popular operating system for smartphones. If you own such a device, then you know how many banners, teasers, pop-ups and even videos you have to deal with.

• Advertising is the same operation that uses RAM, and therefore consumes battery power;
• The likelihood of catching malware and viruses is much higher;
• Automatic advertising updates consume traffic, which is often limited.

With the advent of publicity, programmers were found who developed a program for blocking ads on Android. By installing a blocker on your smartphone or tablet, you will remove it from applications, websites and games.

Naturally, it would be wrong to completely disable advertising, because it is at the expense of it that your favorite sites and developers develop. Its presence allows us to play games for free and download the necessary applications. But sometimes such a need arises. Therefore, let's look at ad blockers for Android.

AdAway app blocks ads in a few clicks

A simple application that blocks the path to the advertising provider’s server in a few clicks. Even a beginner can understand the principle of its operation.

Main advantages:

• convenience and ease of use;
• updates are checked automatically;
• finds unblocked advertisements;
• convenient and understandable description of the application;
• adapted for Russian language.

The disadvantages include:

• inability to use on Google Play;
• requires Root rights;
• Some advertising is still present.

AdFree - one of the first blocking applications

The application checks and corrects the hosts file, in which the addresses and IPs of advertising servers are entered, and the path to them is blocked. Then you configure the utility in a special window and forget about its presence.

Advantages:

• ideally blocks most advertising;
• simple and intuitive interface;
• updated automatically;
• Russified.

Flaws:

• there are no exception settings, so sometimes it treats some services as advertising and blocks access to them;
• not on Google Play;
• Requires Root rights for installation.

Now windows will not pop up on the screen and there will be no need to click on unnecessary links.

AdBlock - removes ads on the tablet

Adblock is an analogue of a program for a computer. After installing it on a tablet or smartphone, it automatically blocks ads. Moreover, if you have root rights, all traffic is filtered, but if you don’t have them, then set up a proxy server on your tablet.

Interestingly, it does not work on all devices.

AdBlock launched their web browser - AdBlock Browser

You can browse websites in your browser without any advertising. It allows you to optimally consume traffic and save battery power. You can download it for free.

NetGuard works without root rights

Another blocker. Its advantageous difference from others is that the application operates without root rights. But it also performs its functions worse; it’s impossible to turn off all advertising.

In essence, this is a simple firewall that allows you to deny access to applications. Its advantages include the ability to download for free on Google Play. To block ads in auto mode, you need to purchase an extended version of this program.

LuckyPatcher will save you from any pop-ups

This application will save you from advertising and can remove the permission check to use the game. Moreover, you yourself decide in which application to block it. The implementation of all functionality also requires root rights. The program allows you to create clones of applications.

Best ad blocker for Android

Oddly enough, the AdFree application, which was one of the first to be created, remains the best ad blocker today. AdAway for Android is not much inferior. The operating principle of these programs is virtually the same. They differ only in the size of the database.

Owners of mobile devices with root rights will be able to try out their functionality. In their absence, you will have to be content with the simple NetGuard utility, which performs its role noticeably worse.

This article discusses several ways to get rid of ads in games and applications on Android. Moreover, both users with root rights and those without them have the opportunity to remove advertising.

First of all, let's look at methods that require root rights. Without them, removing ads will be somewhat more difficult, but most importantly, it’s possible. In the latter case, you can get rid of advertising on devices connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

By the way, we wrote a post about how you can remove advertising from websites. More details in.

How to remove ads on Android using Adblock Plus

For the Adblock Plus app to work, you need to root your device. This can be done either using special programs:

• Kingo Android Root()
• Unlock Root()
• frameroot()
• vroot()

When rooting is done, download the Adblock Plus .apk file from the link below and install the application following the instructions.

Then open it and give Adblock root access.

Also pay attention to the “Acceptable updates” item. Initially it is enabled, meaning some unobtrusive advertising is allowed. If you want to remove all advertising, uncheck this box. But it’s better not to do this, appreciate the work of the developers!

How to remove ads on Android using AdAway

This application also requires root access to remove ads on Android.

When you open AdAway, the program will show that the ad blocker is disabled. Click on this item, after which the download of the files necessary for the application will begin.

At the end, a message will appear that all components have been downloaded and you need to restart the device for the changes to take effect. Click “Yes”, after which your smartphone or tablet will reboot.

Now, when you open AdAway, “Enabled” will appear at the top, and all advertising from games, applications and the browser will disappear.

To return ads, click the "Turn off ad blocking" button. AdAway will begin restoring the “hosts” file to the default, after which a message will again appear that you need to restart your device. Click “Yes” and the new changes will take effect.

Removing ads from games and applications without root rights

Adblock Plus can also work with non-rooted devices connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi. To do this, you will have to configure a proxy server.

1. Launch the application. At the top, click “Customize.”

2. The “Proxy Settings” window will appear, where in the last paragraph we are interested in 2 parameters: “Proxy host name localhost” and “Proxy port 2020”. At the bottom, click the "Open Wi-Fi Settings" button.

3. You will be taken to Wi-Fi settings. Hold your finger on the access point until an additional menu appears.

4. Select "Change Network".

5. Check the box next to “Advanced settings”.

6. Select Proxy Server and a list of available options will appear. Click Manual.

7. Enter the data obtained in step 2 and click “Save”.

NetGuard is a good firewall for Android that allows you to block Internet access for each installed program. Not long ago, a new feature appeared - blocking ads by filtering traffic without . How to activate ad blocking in this firewall - read our short instruction article.

To begin with, it is worth noting that the ad blocking function in NetGuard is available in the application version from the official project page on GitHub. The variation on Google Play does not have such capabilities, since ad blockers no longer allow ad blockers to enter the catalog. On Trashbox, the name indicates those versions of NetGuard that contain ad blocking.

Instructions for activating ad blocking in NetGuard

Left - before blocking, right - after

Also see our video instructions for activating ad blocking in NetGuard:

Oh, advertising, advertising, how boring we are with it. On the street, in newspapers, on television and, of course, on the Internet. If on a computer or any other device with a large display it is still appropriate, although it is confusing, then an advertising banner on half the screen of a smartphone or tablet is difficult to endure. And then there are the banners in games – a nightmare, and that’s all. How to deal with them on mobile devices? Our review of ad blockers for gadgets based on Android OS will tell you about this.

So, let's take a look at the advertising “problem” from the inside. Development and content of a website, creation and support of one or another application - all this is work that must be paid. Not all developers can make paid versions of programs, and not all users are ready to buy them. The situation will be similar with websites; not all users agree to visit their favorite website with a paid subscription. There is only one thing left to do - place ads (whether these are ad impressions or clicks on it does not matter here). And for any action there is correspondingly a reaction. In our case, ad blockers.

We have selected three of the most popular, working and relevant applications. AdAway is an ad blocker by preventing access to advertising addresses. Both AdFree and Adblock Plus work in a similar way. They differ in authors, interface and functions, but their operating principle is the same.

It is worth noting that we in no way encourage the use of this kind of programs, because without money received for advertising, the normal life of most (if not all) sites is impossible. However, in some cases, such applications can help out, and it wouldn’t hurt to talk about them, at least from a technical point of view.

Blocking ads is easy: AdAway

Acquaintance

The application is simplified to the minimum, but is designed for both novice users and experts. Uploading “corrections” and modifying the hosts file itself is as simple as possible. The program also has interesting functions, they are hidden in the depths and will come in handy if necessary.

The main advantages of the AdAway application:

• Ease of use.
• Automatic check for updates.
• Search for unblocked advertising.
• A detailed description of the essence of the application, help, and so on.
• Russian localization.

Flaws:

• You must have Root rights and S-ON (for HTC devices).

Beginning of work

When launched for the first time, the AdAway application will ask for superuser rights. This is necessary to access and change the system partition, namely, editing the hosts file. If your gadget does not have Root rights, the application will not work.

The program interface is as simple as possible, all points are signed and explained in as much detail as possible. AdAway is completely Russified.

Click on the “Download files and apply ad blocking” button. This way we load advertising addresses - hosts, and then integrate them into the system.

The app will then prompt you to restart your device. You need to agree to this command because “Java in Android has its own internal DNS cache. The operating system will use the updated hosts file immediately, but we must reboot the device to recreate the Java DNS cache."

This is exactly how it is explained in the program's help information. It’s intelligible and understandable, and I don’t need to explain anything.

After rebooting, the application will begin to function at full capacity. Advertising is blocked both in the browser and in applications. We'll talk about how well this works next.

If we need to restore the display of advertising, click on the “Disable ad blocking” button, after which the original structure of the hosts file is restored. By the way, when uninstalling the utility, you should use this function.

Settings

AdAway is practically not replete with settings. Among the functions that deserve to be listed are automatic checking for updates to advertising addresses. The database can be updated only when connected to a Wi-Fi network, so as not to waste precious megabytes of mobile traffic.

We can then adjust the host list sources, which is convenient. In addition to standard sources, you can add your own to be sure to block all advertising. You can also unblock this or that resource if unwanted advertising suddenly stops coming from there.

By the way, we can specify “our” path to the hosts file, which is very convenient, then the original will remain untouched.

We also have access to the DNS query log. This will allow you to block ads in those applications where this could not be done using “standard means”. That is, using this tool it will be possible to analyze application requests for advertising and, if necessary, block them.

Using the Adware Scanner, you can find applications that use the Airpush notification system, which may display advertisements. Unfortunately, this can only be fixed by deleting the applications themselves.

This is where we finished reviewing all the functions of the application called AdAway.

Testing

For a clear example of how the program works, we took several sites where various types of advertising are present. So, it is blocked, but not everywhere, despite the fact that the list of advertising hosts has been updated to the latest (at the time of writing this review).

I will note one point concerning not only this application, but also the others. In the Google Chrome browser, Google ads will be displayed in traffic compression mode. And since in this mode all advertising comes in compressed form (possibly through an encrypted channel, there is no exact data) and is unpacked on the device itself, no specialized application can block it.

Conclusions on AdAway

AdAway is a very typical ad blocker. It is easy to use, can automatically update a database of advertising addresses, filter DNS requests, scan applications for Airpush notifications, and has several other functions.