Applications that remove intrusive ads on smartphones with the Android operating system are becoming increasingly popular among users. The reason is that the Google Play store now has many low-quality programs that are created by dishonest developers. And these programs are crammed with distracting advertisements. And often, these banners contain links to a dangerous virus. How to get rid of ads on Android?
Google issues
Blocking applications are a direct threat to Google preventing it from making money on its operating system. For this reason, not so long ago a mass cleaning of the store from such utilities was organized. After the release of the security update for Android of the fourth version, users were forced to set up a proxy server with their own hands. A little later, applications for blocking ads were completely excluded from the list. And how to get rid of Google ads on Android now? The situation is unpleasant.
The company explained its actions as follows: third-party applications are able to redirect traffic arbitrarily, thereby creating a threat of espionage or theft of users' personal data. Application developers received letters stating a violation of the distribution agreement clause. It said that the creator of the program undertakes not to do anything that can interrupt or disrupt the operation of Google devices, networks, servers and other services, users of the Android operating system and telecom operators, as well as cause them any other damage.
Ethical issue
Blocking applications that know how to get rid of pop-up ads on Android (AdAway, AdBlock and the like) are not only dangerous for the company’s business. Installing such a utility can also be unfair for a large number of small developers distributing their creations through Google Play absolutely free in the hope of thereby receiving at least some reward. Therefore, each user must answer the question of whether it is ethical to use ad blockers.
Adblock plus
Since the utilities have been completely removed from the store, they can be found and downloaded only on the official websites of development companies. One of the most popular applications with this functionality is AdBlock Plus. The program is fully open source. The official site says that more than 200 million users from all over the world have downloaded it. Another utility is available as an extension for the web browsers "Opera", "Chrome", "Firefox".
The first situation is simple, since you need to get rid of ads on Android only on Internet pages. This is not difficult to do. In a Mozilla browser:
- Open a browser, click on the button with three small dots in the upper right corner and select “Tools”, and in it - “Add-ons”.
- Then you need to go to the plugin store by clicking on the orange icon with a bag. The name of the program - AdBlock Plus - is entered in the search field. Then it is added to the browser.
- After the plugin is installed, you need to enable it. If necessary, in certain situations, you can allow the display of advertising banners.
The browser plug-in cuts out almost all advertising elements: in YouTube videos, which can be in the beginning and in the middle, pop-up messages and banners. But some plugin ads may skip. To completely disable them, go to the add-on settings, check off the option "Disable everywhere" and uncheck the item that allows you to display some ads. The plugin is fully compatible with the most current browser versions. Users of devices with large screens will no longer need to worry about how to get rid of ads on the tablet. Android will be clean of annoying banners.
Advertising and applications
In applications, blocking ad units is a bit more difficult. Without obtaining root rights on a smartphone, the plugin can block ads only when connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi. When using mobile Internet, you need to hack the device and give the user all rights. But still, how to get rid of ads in the "Android" applications?
To install AdBlock on a smartphone with "Android" you need to do the following:
- Open the “Security” item in the settings and uncheck the boxes responsible for unknown applications and application verification.
- Go through the browser to the official website of the utility developer and click on download.
- Run the downloaded file and install the application.
- For security, it is better to check the boxes that were removed at the beginning of the process.
After the installation is complete, the program itself will select the necessary subscription for the user's country, and then it will update it regularly. All settings are best left as they are by default. These include updating via Wi-Fi, starting at boot, and filtering.
Possible difficulties
In more cases, the application works immediately after installing it. There is no need to configure anything. But still, in some versions of the operating system, after Google has made changes, it may be necessary to configure a proxy server. What to do in this case and how to get rid of ads on the "Android"?
For the “Android” of the fourth version you need:
- Open the Wi-Fi item in the settings, hold down the desired connection and select a network change. Then scroll down the screen and tick “Advanced”.
- When setting up the proxy server, select “Manual”, and enter the word localhost in the host name field. Where you need to specify the port, a number is entered from the notification panel.
Port not visible
Sometimes, on some versions of the operating system, the port is not shown. Then you need to do the following:
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network, then go to the settings of mobile networks and select the access point through which you are connected to the mobile Internet. Here you need to rewrite the settings.
- Click on the three dots in the lower right corner and create a new access point. To do this, use the corresponding paragraph. The saved data is entered here, and the same word is added to the proxy server field - localhost. The port number is 26571.
- The access point must be saved and then activated by clicking on the button to the right of it.
How to get rid of ads on Android version 2? As in the previous version, in the network settings, click on the "Advanced" button and enter localhost in the proxy server address field. In the port, specify the number shown by the application to block.
Platform version 3 is the most difficult for AdBlock because it lacks manual proxy settings. If the creators of the device did not provide this feature, then most likely the user will be forced to receive root rights on the smartphone. Some models contain the necessary proxy settings in various places. On the official website of the blocker, there are detailed instructions for some models of smartphones that tell you how to get rid of ads on Android.