Chrome on Android doesn't support extensions, and neither does Chrome on iPhone, so there's no uBlock Origin for the browser most people use on their phone.
What phones do let you control is DNS, the lookup every app does before it loads anything. If the
lookup for doubleclick.net comes back empty, the ad never loads. This project does that filtering
with about 400,000 ad, tracker and malware domains, and you can run it whichever way suits you:
| Option | Phone | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| Android app | Android 8+ | Nothing. Install the APK and tap Turn on. |
| iPhone profile | iPhone, iPad | Nothing. One tap in Safari. |
| iPhone app | iPhone, iPad | A paid Apple developer account to sideload it. |
| Termux | Android | Termux. Root is optional. |
| Your own server | Both | A VPS and a domain. Covers a whole family. |
Or open tyfsadik.github.io/mobile-chrome-adblock on your phone for the short version.
- Download AdBlock.apk on your phone and open it. If Android asks, allow your browser to install apps.
- Open AdBlock and tap Turn on. Android asks once to allow the VPN connection.
That's it. Blocking happens on the phone itself: no account, no server, and nothing leaves your phone except normal lookups for sites that aren't blocked.
The app shows up as a VPN, but it only carries DNS lookups. Your actual browsing goes straight to the internet as usual, so it doesn't slow anything down or use extra battery.
- Two blocking levels. Strong is the default. Ultimate blocks more but may occasionally break a site.
- Recently blocked list. Tap a domain to always allow it if something stops working.
- Quick Settings tile. Switch it on and off from the notification shade.
- Blocks bypass attempts. Public encrypted DNS servers (Google, Cloudflare and others) are blocked, so apps can't skip the filter.
- Catches disguised trackers. Trackers hiding behind a site's own subdomain (CNAME cloaking) are blocked too.
- Works offline. The lists are built into the app. Tap Update lists to get the newest ones.
If you've set Private DNS to a specific provider in Android settings, that overrides the app. The app warns you when this happens; set Private DNS back to Automatic.
The profile (easiest). Open tyfsadik.github.io/mobile-chrome-adblock in Safari and tap Download profile, then go to Settings > Profile Downloaded > Install. This points your iPhone at AdGuard DNS, a free public ad-blocking DNS service, so it uses AdGuard's blocklist rather than this project's. Remove the profile under Settings > General > VPN, DNS & Device Management to turn it off.
The app. AdBlock.ipa works like the Android app, blocking on the phone itself with the same lists. It also adds "Turn on AdBlock" and "Turn off AdBlock" to Siri and the Shortcuts app. The catch is Apple's rule that apps using the VPN system need a paid Apple developer account ($99 a year), so free sideloading through AltStore or SideStore won't work. With a paid account, install it with Sideloadly or build it yourself in Xcode (see Building).
Install the adblock command in Termux:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TYFSADIK/mobile-chrome-adblock/main/termux/adblock -o $PREFIX/bin/adblock && chmod +x $PREFIX/bin/adblockWith the Android app installed (adblock install-app downloads it for you):
adblock on # start blocking
adblock off # stop
adblock toggle
adblock status # "on queries=1520 blocked=431"These work from scripts, Termux:Widget home screen shortcuts, and Tasker too.
Rooted phones can skip the app entirely:
adblock root-on # or: adblock root-on ultimate
adblock allow example.com # never block a domain
adblock root-offRoot mode runs the blocker inside Termux and uses firewall rules to send every DNS lookup on the phone to it. It also blocks encrypted DNS on port 853 so nothing slips past. Android caches lookups for a few minutes, so sites you opened just before turning it on may keep their ads until then.
Without root or the app, Termux can't change the phone's DNS. Android doesn't allow it.
One server can protect every phone in your family, with no app on any of them. You need a small Linux VPS (the Oracle Cloud free tier works, or any $4 to $5 VPS) and a domain pointing at it. A free DuckDNS subdomain is fine. On the server:
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TYFSADIK/mobile-chrome-adblock/main/install.sh | sudo bash -s dns.yourname.comThat installs Docker if needed, opens ports 80, 443 and 853, starts the server and gets a Let's
Encrypt certificate. Then open https://dns.yourname.com on each phone:
- Android: Settings > Network & internet > Private DNS > enter
dns.yourname.com. - iPhone: open the page in Safari > Download profile > Settings > Install.
Other ways to run the server, and its options
Docker Compose:
git clone https://github.com/TYFSADIK/mobile-chrome-adblock && cd mobile-chrome-adblock
# replace dns.example.com in docker-compose.yml with your domain
docker compose up -dDocker:
docker run -d --name adblock --restart unless-stopped \
-p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 853:853 -v $PWD/certs:/data/certs \
ghcr.io/tyfsadik/mobile-chrome-adblock -domain dns.yourname.comBinary from Releases, or go install github.com/TYFSADIK/mobile-chrome-adblock@latest:
sudo ./adblock-dns-linux-amd64 -domain dns.yourname.com| Flag | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
-domain |
none | Public hostname. Turns on HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS and automatic certificates. |
-level |
strong |
strong or ultimate. |
-lists |
none | Comma-separated blocklist URLs or files, replacing the level's lists. |
-allowlist |
allowlist.txt |
Domains that should never be blocked, one per line. |
-upstream |
1.1.1.1:53,9.9.9.9:53 |
Where allowed lookups get forwarded. |
-refresh |
24h |
How often to re-download the blocklists. |
-log-blocks |
off | Log every blocked domain. Useful when a site breaks. |
-dns-addr |
off | Plain DNS listener, e.g. :53 on a home network. Don't expose it to the internet. |
-dev |
off | Local testing without TLS. |
Every option uses the same lists:
| List | Strong | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|
| StevenBlack hosts | yes | yes |
| AdGuard DNS filter | yes | yes |
| HaGeZi Pro++ | yes | |
| HaGeZi Ultimate | yes | |
| HaGeZi encrypted DNS bypass | yes | yes |
That's about 400,000 domains on Strong and 420,000 on Ultimate.
Does it block YouTube ads? No. YouTube serves ads from the same servers as the videos, so blocking one blocks the other. The same goes for sponsored posts on Instagram and Facebook. No DNS or VPN blocker can remove those. For YouTube, use Brave, or Firefox for Android with uBlock Origin.
Will it block every ad on every site? It blocks ads that come from ad networks, which is most of them. Ads a site serves from its own domain can't be told apart from the site's content at the DNS level, and the empty space where an ad was sometimes stays on the page.
Does it slow my phone down? No. The phone does these lookups anyway. Pages usually load faster because the ads and trackers are skipped.
Something broke. How do I fix it?
In the Android app, find the domain in Recently blocked and tap it to allow it. In Termux root mode,
adblock allow example.com. On a server, add the domain to allowlist.txt and restart.
Why does Android say it's a VPN? Android only lets apps filter DNS through its VPN system. The app routes nothing but DNS lookups through it, and they never leave your phone except to look up sites that aren't blocked.
Android (needs JDK 17+ and the Android SDK):
cd android && ./gradlew assembleReleaseiOS (needs Xcode and XcodeGen):
cd ios && python3 scripts/build-blocklist.py Tunnel && xcodegen && open AdBlock.xcodeprojServer (Go 1.27+):
go test ./... && go build -o adblock-dns .GitHub Actions builds the APK, the IPA and server binaries for every release.
MIT, Taki Sadik