Before we begin
I really hate ads.
I despise ads.
I cannot stand having advertisments in the technology I use, since i cannot control the advertisments, and they disturb and delay me in getting the stuff that I need to get done, done.
More than anything though i find them irritating and infurtiating. Ever since I made the switch to an iPhone (with the intent of jailbreaking and hacking on it, I thought it woudl make for an excellent challenge). I was plagued with ads in my public transportation app (ITS A PUBLIC SERVICE, IT SHOULDNT HAVE ADS!!) which made the app unusable (there is not alternative), and the same applied to apps i used for money transfer and studying.
So I had enough and I started browsing the app store in an attempt to block all the ads.
Like almost everything in the app store, everything either was misleading, didnt work, or only worked after a paywall/subscription.
Now, paying some random company to remove the ads for me kind of defeated the point, so I knew i had to search and tinker, and then i stumbled upon a solution.
NextDNS, the Holy grail of adblocking
NextDNS is a DNS provider service that lets you choose what domains get blocked or not (this is the magic sauce we need to block ads).
when using NextDNS, you can configure it to block all connections to ad providers, essentially removing ads altogether from your phone.
it works a lot like AdAway, except its cross platform (iOS,Android). You flip a switch in the app, and all connections your phone makes are filtered and ad/tracker connections are dropped and never made. Basically, ads = blocked.
Step 1: Install NextDNS
NextDNS is available in the app store, so just install it.
Step 2: Make an account (or dont)
Make An account on the NextDNS website (this is recommended, because after a week your anonymous account settings get deleted.)
Step 3: configure the blocklist
In the website go to Privacy, and then “Add A Blocklist”.
Note, that the more blocklists you add, the more ad providers you block, and the higher the risk is that some apps wont work whilst adblocking.
I recommend the following blocklists:
- NextDNS Ads & Trackers Blocklist
- AdGuard DNS filter
- Disconnect (Ads)
- EasyList
- AdGuard Mobile ads filter
- oisd (this one is very! important)
- Goodbye Ads
- AdAway
- AdGuard base filter
- Steven black
- notracking
- AdGuard Trackig Protection filter
- NSABlocklist (this one is recommended for secuirty and privacy diehards, it kills connections to popular social media websites making them unusuable)
Final Step & Wrapup
Now, go to the setup tab and copy your ID and paste it into the app.
Flip the switch in the app, and you are done.
Now, ads will never pester you again, unless they are builtin to the app (something like twitter ads or instagram ads, which are inseperable from the app via filter means.)