Best Android Adblocker for Rooted & Unrooted Devices

Ads on websites and apps are a double edged sword: On one side they finance the content that you’re getting and on the other side they clutter content and drown your phones battery. Personally, I’m not using an ad blocker when using products that I enjoy.
It’s basically my personal way of giving back. In the following I’ll show you the best ways of blocking ads on your Android device – no matter if you have root access or not. For rooted devices I personally would recommend AdAway, without root access you can use Adguard. Let’s have a look at the different options and their advantages and disadvantages

AdAway – The best solution for rooted devices

If you have root access to your Android device, AdAway is the best option for ad blocking that you can get. AdAway is based on using a hosts file, effectively redirecting connections to certain ad services to your local device. Because of this, ads are not shown on any website or app on your phone. The app let’s you white- and blacklist domains and IPs – so if you think a certain app or website deserves to show ads, you can simply whitelist it.

Advantages

• Easy setup
• Blocks ads on websites and apps
• Does not require many resources
• Ability to whitelist / blacklist stuff outside the standard list

Disadvantages

• Requires root access
• Can’t be downloaded on Google Play

Adguard – Adblocking for non-rooted Android devices

Many people decide not to root their Android device. Because of this, Android modification can get tricky and is very limited. Luckily, with Adguard you’re able to block ads on websites, apps and protect yourself from phishing and malicious trackers. But this comes at a price. Adguard is based on a VPN connection which means that your device access the internet using the Adguard servers. While they’re able to block ads and malicious content, this has some downsides like not being able to use browser compression services. Non-rooted users also have to activate the app at every start.


Advantages

• Easy setup
• Blocks ads on websites
• Blocks trackers
• Free
• Parental control
• Protects against phishing

Disadvantages

• Based on VPN
• Prompt has be accepted at every start
• Uses more battery
• Can’t be used together with browser compression services
• Can’t block content on https sites

It does not matter if you go for AdAway or Adguard, both will be able to block ads on your Android device. While both apps have their advantages, I personally think that AdAway is the far superior solution.