Blocking Ads in Android apps, games, and browsers sometimes feels so necessary. If you are here looking for ways to block ads in Android then we got your back.
If you are tech-savvy and understand the mechanism and working of advertisement then you also agree that up to some extent Ads are necessary for the apps and games designers so that they can earn a share as their wages and continue to keep providing their services free of cost.
However, there is a limit to that and after that ads can be annoying. It is usually not easy to block ads in Android apps and games which may snatch your interest. But, we are here with a couple of ways you can try to block ads in Android apps, games, and browsers.
We are going to discuss a few ways which you can use in both cases if your device is rooted or non-rooted. If you don’t know about rooting you should stick to the approach relevant to non-rooted or untouched OS devices. We will explain device rooting later in this article.
Without further ado let’s begin with ways to block ads in android apps and games.
Contents
How to block ads in Android Apps?
1- Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus, also known as ABP is probably the most popular tool to block ads in android apps. Adblock Plus is an app that helps is getting rid of annoying ads from Android apps and games.
Adblock Plus is the product of an open-source program so it is always worth the trust. As per their official site, Adblock is based on Chromium, which makes Adblock Browser (ABB) fast, sleek, and secure.
Adblock blocks bad ads from Android before even it gets downloaded to the device and also stops advertisers from tracking your every move. Adblock claims to save battery life and data and also keep your browsing private.
How to use Adblock Plus to block ads in Android Apps and Games?
You can get Adblock Plus on their official site and install the downloaded APK file on your Android device. This method works with both rooted and non-rooted devices.
If you have rooted your device then it would be easy to use. Once you install it then provide the superuser permission and Adblock Plus will start blocking annoying ads from your Android device.
In the case of un-rooted Android devices, some settings are required and it works there as well. If you’re running Android 3.1 or higher, or if your device supports manually configuring a proxy, the root is not required. But it is always desirable since it is the only way to seamlessly block ads on all connections.
If you want to read more about running Adblock Plus on non-rooted Android devices then you can go to this link.
Why Adblock Plus is not on Android Play Store?
Google has started removing ad blocker apps from Play Store as it might be with conflict of interest related to people using Android apps as a platform to earn using advertisements. At least that’s what I believe as Adblocker Plus is not a malicious app and deserves to be on the play store.
2- Adblock Plus Browser Extensions
If you are annoyed with ads while browsing a website or reading a column on your browser then do not worry anymore. You can always use Adblock Plus browser extensions in your Android browser and surf the internet without being annoyed by ads.
You can get the Adblock Plus extension for Chrome here and for Firefox hrere. Once you install the extensions for your browser you might have to restart it and then it will start blocking ads from your Android device’s respective browser.
3- Using “hosts file” to Block ads from Android Apps and Games
This method is a little advanced method to Block ads from Android Apps and Games but this is the most effective way. This method works only with rooted Android devices.
The “hosts file” is a piece of text information that stores the mapping of a website and respective IP addresses. This information lies in the system directory of the Android operating system and constantly gets updated to each new website you visit. All you have to do is replace the original “hosts file” with new hosts file downloaded from a given source.
How to block ads in Android Apps and Games using hosts files?
Step – 1
Go to your PC browser and open the link and then hit Ctr+S to save this file. It will be saved as hosts with .txt extensions. Let it be as it is.
Step – 2
Move this hosts file to your Android device using email or Bluetooth.
Step – 3
Allow superuser permission to your file manager and it will let you navigate to system files. Navigate to etc or system/etc directory and move your hosts file there. You may need to rename the original hosts file in order to paste your secondary hosts file in the same place. This whole process needs device rooting in place.
Step – 4
Restart the Android device and you can use any app or game on your Android device without irritating ads.
Read More: 18 Best Android hidden features and hacks
4- YouTube Vanced
This method is particularly helpful in blocking ads from YouTube videos. Nowadays it is quite common to face at least 2 ads before watching actual videos which are pretty annoying.
Well, not anymore. Vanced is here to save you from annoying ads. YouTube Vanced is a mod app developed by experts and considered to be a better version of the stock Android YouTube app. It Includes cool features like adblocking, background playback, and a lot more.
This method works with rooted and un-rooted Android devices as well. You will have to download the APK from the Vanced website as it is not available on Google Play Store and the installation process is very simple.
In case your device doesn’t allow installation from other sources you might have to enable it from the setting. Once installation is complete you are good to go.
What is Android device rooting?
Rooting is a means of unlocking your device’s operating system so that you can gain superuser access, delete unwanted bloatware, install unapproved apps, update the OS, replace the firmware, and so on.
Rooting is not recommended unless you are sure about the consequences as it may break existing functionalities.
What is the hosts file in the operating system?
The hosts file is the text file that contains the mapping of IP addresses against each website. It gets constantly updated by the DNS server.
Is it safe to use Adblocker using the rooted Android approach?
It’s not completely safe when you root an android device as it may break your phone software. But, if you are a tech-savvy and curious person then you should not refrain from learning new ways as long as you are cautious.
Is it illegal to use YouTube Vanced?
Well, technically it is not illegal as Google has not made any stance yet. Although Vanced APK is not allowed on Google Playstore but is available on the web to be installed and Google doesn’t mind it yet.
As per an expert from on Google support forum, “It is not illegal to use YouTube Vanced. As it doesn’t modify the YouTube website, but rather only it’s rendering on your device, I can’t see how it would be illegal. However, if YouTube (Google (Alphabet)) wanted to, I’m sure they could get you in some sort of trouble legally for using it.. God knows that they have the resources to hire enough lawyers who speak legalese to spin something up.”
Disclaimer-
Please note that the discussed approaches in this article to block ads in your android apps may break some existing functionality of your device. So please be careful and try these ways at your own risk.
Final Thoughts
Although ads are annoying, they are the income source to the developers who work really hard to create an amazing Android app or game and rely on it for their income.
In addition to that ads sometimes can be really helpful in landing you to get cost-effective deals on your favorite shopping app or site.
So, it is not always a good practice to get rid of ads completely. You can allow intrusive ads to keep the annoying impact minimal and leverage the benefits of the ad as well.
You can also buy paid versions of the apps which are usually ad-free.
