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Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

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Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#51

Post by pipes »

Krssst wrote: post #17
illwrks wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you outline how you're doing system-wide as blocking? That's news to me!

I think adguard works by running a local VPN on your phone. This way it can filter unencrypted connections while integrating properly in Android. Can also filter HTTPS by installing an (app-generated I assume) root certificate but I don't feel very good about doing that. One issue is that it cannot work when using another VPN.

I'm using unlock on Firefox on android, it blocks ads on YouTube. Genuine question, what would ad guard do that is better?

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#53

Post by SyrupThinker »

asimovfan wrote: post #50
CodesInChaos wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought iOS Safari had built-in ad-blocking functionality (block list filled by extensions)?

I can't block youtube ads on my iPad.

Sure you can, you can run something like Wipr [1] and SponsorBlock [2] in Safari on an iPad for an ad-free YouTube experience, in the browser.

Of course there is a compromise on the video quality (1080p max) and convenience of the official app.

[1]: https://kaylees.site/wipr.html [2]: https://sponsor.ajay.app

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#54

Post by suprjami »

dyingkneepad wrote: post #22

My wife doesn't, simply because Android Chrome doesn't support one and she won't move to Firefox because it doesn't have an extension to translate pages with Google Translate like Chrome does :(

In recent Firefox on Android, I can now highlight text and there is a Translate option along with Copy Paste etc. I have the Google Translate app installed, I assume that's doing it.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#55

Post by amanaplanacanal »

asimovfan wrote: post #50
CodesInChaos wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought iOS Safari had built-in ad-blocking functionality (block list filled by extensions)?

I can't block youtube ads on my iPad.

I believe you can if you use safari instead of the YouTube app.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#56

Post by jsmith99 »

illwrks wrote: post #12
Justsignedup wrote: post #10

I do use adblockers, so much so that I basically only use android because of all the system-wide adblocking capabilities, including youtube ads. I occasionally switch off adblockers to see what the rest of the world sees. Within seconds I am shocked every single time. Some sites I use are unusable without adblockers. The youtube experience is attrocious without adblockers. Amazon products are impossible to find witho…

Can you outline how you're doing system-wide as blocking? That's news to me!

Both android and iOS natively let you set a custom DNS server and there are several that include adblocking (or you can host your own). It's not as good as application level blocking but it's quite effective.

I recommend NextDNS as a hosted, paid, custom DNS provider.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#57

Post by Zeyka »

dyingkneepad wrote: post #22

My wife doesn't, simply because Android Chrome doesn't support one and she won't move to Firefox because it doesn't have an extension to translate pages with Google Translate like Chrome does :(

Try kiwi browser, it's chrome for android but with extensions

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#58

Post by GOATS- »

jsmith99 wrote: post #56
illwrks wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you outline how you're doing system-wide as blocking? That's news to me!

Both android and iOS natively let you set a custom DNS server and there are several that include adblocking (or you can host your own). It's not as good as application level blocking but it's quite effective. I recommend NextDNS as a hosted, paid, custom DNS provider.

I moved away from NextDNS due to how slowly it picked up DNS changes, it would take hours for changes to propagate - and there wasn't any way to force it to update without manually creating DNS entries. I installed PiHole on one of my servers and Tailscale makes it available on all my devices - I couldn't be happier.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#59

Post by Larrikin »

pipes wrote: post #51
Krssst wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think adguard works by running a local VPN on your phone. This way it can filter unencrypted connections while integrating properly in Android. Can also filter HTTPS by installing an (app-generated I assume) root certificate but I don't feel very good about doing that. One issue is that it cannot work when using another VPN.

I'm using unlock on Firefox on android, it blocks ads on YouTube. Genuine question, what would ad guard do that is better?

AdGuard as the DNS for your router + Tailscale blocks trackers and ads on all your devices in all apps, not just browsers with ad block installed. Mobile games, embedded WebViews, etc. If you are an iOS user that hates safari, you can use Firefox without ads. Something like 30 percent of what it blocks in my logs comes from trackers being blocked on my Roku and Android TV. With Tailscale it will also block ads when you are mobile.

The one caveat is that it does not block ads served natively, so you will still need a specialized app for native YouTube, Instagram, and others, but those are readily available now.

Re: Ask HN: Does anybody not use an adblocker?

#60

Post by Krssst »

pipes wrote: post #51
Krssst wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think adguard works by running a local VPN on your phone. This way it can filter unencrypted connections while integrating properly in Android. Can also filter HTTPS by installing an (app-generated I assume) root certificate but I don't feel very good about doing that. One issue is that it cannot work when using another VPN.

I'm using unlock on Firefox on android, it blocks ads on YouTube. Genuine question, what would ad guard do that is better?

Without HTTPS filtering, I would believe uBlock Origin to be better as it should be able to operate on secure connections. But it's limited to the browser.

On my side I use both: AdGuard on the system side to help with apps and Chrome, and uBlock Origin in Firefox for HTTPS or when another VPN is being used.

Note: for applications/services, buying the no-ad option or using an open-source application from F-Droid is the better way when possible. Even when doing so, AdGuard can be helpful for in-app web browsers that don't have ad blockers.

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