These 3 Android Apps Can Block Ads On Your Phone

Popular ad-blockers aren't always the most accessible option. Some VPN services, like NordVPN and Surfshark, included ad-blocking within their apps, but you're paying a premium for the full package rather than just the ad-blocker. Another approach is setting up a private DNS server to block ads at the system level. While effective in some cases, it's not always reliable. Certain apps might bypass or hardcode their own DNS settings, and some networks might block custom DNS entirely, which can lead to connectivity issues. Even when it works, DNS-based ad-blocking isn't perfect. Since it blocks entire domains, it can break parts of apps or leave empty spaces where ads would normally appear.

That's why no ad-blocker is going to be perfect. Some methods work better than others, depending on whether you already use a VPN or whether you're exploring open-source options. Some ads are good at evading blockers, and you might even get annoying prompts from different websites asking you to kindly turn off your ad-blocker while perusing their content. But for Android users, there are a few apps we recommend to block ads across your device.

DNS blocking is an effective tool for filtering ads, but as mentioned previously, there are limits to its use. NextDNS addresses this problem with easy-to-access blocklists. You can add a specific domain to a blocklist, so you can control which apps or websites can show you ads and which cannot. That way, you don't need to worry about losing short video content that might show ads — as long as you add the platform to the whitelist (the allowlist).

Keep in mind that NextDNS is not an app; rather, it is a customizable endpoint. The setup is pretty easy since Android phones have a native method to customize DNS settings. You simply open the NextDNS website on your phone, create an account, then choose your specific settings for the kinds of content and apps you want filtered. Once you've done that, you can save the details to a free account. This should create a custom DNS for you to use, which you can simply add to your phone in the Private DNS section of your Android settings.

Outside of DNS blocking, NextDNS offers a few extra features in the dashboard. You can find options like parental controls to prevent your kids from accessing domains they shouldn't, native tracking protection to prevent system trackers on your Android device, and a dedicated analytics tool that shows stats on which domains are being blocked and resolved. It's nifty and quite simple to set up. You can use the same private DNS on other devices and platforms. That said, it is only free up to 300,000 queries per month, unless you upgrade to a plan. If you're using NextDNS on multiple devices, you may soon reach this limit.

AdLock focuses on system-wide ad-blocking rather than your apps or web browser, making it a one-size-fits-all solution for blocking ads — so it helps block ads on YouTube, social media, crypto-mining, banner ads, and pop-ups.  To use AdLock, you need to download the APK directly from its official website and pay a subscription fee to use it on up to five devices. At the time of writing, it's available from $1.05 per month, and new users can opt into a free trial if it's available.

AdLock doesn't participate in any programs that would allow any ads to be shown, even with its blocking filter switched on. This is because the company doesn't accept any ads — it doesn't enroll in any acceptable ads programs. Another interesting safety feature AdLock offers is a safety check that examines a URL and searches its database to determine whether it contains ads related to phishing, spyware, or malware. While that shouldn't be a common occurrence, it is nice to have peace of mind in case you do run into a sketchy source.

Overall, AdLock is a solid option for blocking ads, but like most ad blockers, it has a few faults. It can't stop browser fingerprinting, which could be a privacy concern. You only unlock advanced filtering and blocking by paying, and you have no choice but to pay to use AdLock on an Android device. This tool also appears to log a lot of data, which the company claims it needs for development purposes. You can read a full outline of what is being collected on its Privacy Policy page.

Total AdBlock is a tool created by Total Security Limited, the same team that published the TotalAV antivirus software. You can use the free or premium version, which costs a little under $2 per month to use. The tricky part is that if you only use the free version, it won't block every website – the idea is to give you a taste of how it works before you subscribe. Once you've set it up, you can download a certificate for your device that blocks ads from websites and apps. One of the perks of this app is that you can block YouTube ads without breaking video functionality, just like AdLock.

Reviewers from AllAboutCookies gave Total AdBlock an impressive score of 97 out of 100 on the AdBlock Tester tool, indicating that this tool excelled at blocking all kinds of ads and scripts. Cybernews also rates Total AdBlock as the second-best Android ad-blocking app. There are also some handy features in the Android app, like content blocking and a direct line to support from within the app's settings.

We curated this list of ad blockers with options that do not require device root access and are also not overly expensive to use. While VPNs offer great built-in ad-blocking, this is a bonus service tacked onto your VPN subscription that not everyone will use. Our pick of ad blockers are built to work around the browser on your Android device. Chrome's Android app, often the default internet browser for most Android phones, still does not support extensions, unless you're accessing desktop mode or installing Chromium-based third-party browsers. So you need to use apps that can block ads from a device level.

We also wanted to select options that were highly regarded and trustworthy, since you are relying on these services to keep your phone clean and not to inject spying trackers. The reason someone might want to block ads, beyond annoyance, is to limit tracking, so it would be counterintuitive to choose a service that would just do the same thing.