I’ve been using Adguard Free on Android for about a year now and I like how it works. I discovered it does not block trackers unfortunately. I’m thinking of buying a lifetime subscription. Is it worth it?
It seems like an all-in-one package for all my devices, which would save me a lot of thinkering.
Or would I just go using other providers like Mullvad or Pihole in the future? I mentioned Mullvad because of the VPN service, I think Adguard has that included too. Would that be safe to use for torrents? I live in the EU if that helps.
Thanks in advance!
I love the pi hole
Now, how do you use a pihole on your phone when you aren’t connected to your WiFi?
You can use pivpn and tunnel into it using wireguard when You’re not home.
Or
- lockdown privacy
- dnscloak
- protonvpn with ad blocking
- Mullvad vpn with ad blocking
If you are interested in protonvpn here’s a month free https://gonzoknows.com/product/proton-mail-plus-suite/
Use NextDNS instead. Custom lists, tracker protection, and can be used for free with full features, but the paid version is very cheap.
I’ve been using it and it works pretty well. It won’t block all ads in some apps (like kids games) at least with the default config, but it’s saved our devices from gigs worth of ads. I think on my wife’s phone it’s blocked something like a million ads and I’m sitting at 580,000 blocked on mine after about a year. It’s nice that you can put it on multiple devices too.
I think PiHole is good too but only works at home. I also use Firefox with UBlock so I have that whitelisted in AdGuard.
Adguard app does block ads and trackers in the free version too, you just need to set up dns filtering and select adguard DNS. You can also create a nextdns account for free and run it through adguard to have more control over what you’re blocking.
In general, adblocker for browser > DNS > anything else.
You can also create a nextdns account for free and run it through adguard to have more control over what you’re blocking.
What would the advantage of doing this over just using NextDNS be? Is it that AdGuard does browser blocking too? I have uBO + NextDNS free. Does AdGuard offer anything better?
In my opinion, adguard is worth in two cases: if you need Firewall+VPN on an unrooted device (every other thing I tried was either Firewall or VPN, no chance of getting them to work at the same time), or if you’re installing it on a family member’s/acquaintance’s device, so that they have an on/off switch if something goes wrong.
Unless you don’t fit in one of those two cases adguard will do little to nothing for you
Thanks for the explanation! But what is behind ‘Tracking protection’ and ‘browsing security’? Or can that be bypassed by using Nextdns?
It’s not a matter of bypassing, it’s about achieving the same result by different means.
I don’t know what exactly adguard does once those settings are enabled, but a private DNS (or even adguard’s free public dns, if you don’t want to put in the commitment and prefer a “set it and forget it” approach) gives you both tracking and malware protection (I strongly suggest watching this video to understand what a private DNS does and how https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUG57ynLb8I)
In general, I think DNS blocking is the easiest, quickest and the most effective way to block ads on your devices
Here is an alternative Piped link(s): https://piped.video/watch?v=WUG57ynLb8I
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source, check me out at GitHub.
