BlockAds: Clean Internet

Block ads & trackers system-wide. Firewall, SafeSearch, profiles

AppID:	app.pwhs.blockads
Author:	pass-with-high-score
License:	GPL-3.0-only
Donation:	Webpage
InRepoSince:	2026-03-06
LastRepoUpdate:	2026-07-04
LastAppUpdate:	2026-07-04
LastVersion:	6.5.2
Categories:	Security, Internet
APK source:	Github
Google Play:	Check if it's there

Tired of intrusive ads slowing down your phone? BlockAds blocks ads across all your apps and browsers with just one tap — no root required.

KEY FEATURES

System-Wide Ad Blocking: Smart DNS-based filtering for every app and browser. No root access required.
Privacy Protection: Blocks trackers and spyware. Zero data collection — everything stays locally on your device.
App Firewall & Profiles: Block internet access for specific apps (Wi-Fi/Mobile). Switch instantly between Default, Strict, Family, and Gaming profiles.
Parental Controls: Enforce SafeSearch (Google/Bing) and YouTube Restricted Mode via Family-safe DNS providers.
Detailed Statistics: View real-time blocked ad counters, 24-hour activity charts, and detailed DNS query logs.
Fully Customizable: Add custom filter lists via URL (ABPVN, AdGuard, EasyList, etc.), create allow/block rules, and use custom DoH/DoT encrypted DNS.
Modern UI: Material 3 design built with Jetpack Compose. Features Dark/Light themes, custom accent colors, Quick Settings tile, and Home screen widgets.
Backup & Restore: Export your configuration to JSON and easily import it on a new device.
Battery & Data Friendly: Minimal performance impact. Filters only DNS traffic, reducing unnecessary ad data downloads.

HOW TO USE

Open BlockAds.
Tap the power button and allow the VPN connection.
Enjoy an ad-free internet experience! (You can also toggle protection via Quick Settings tile or widget).

FAQ

Is BlockAds safe?
Yes. BlockAds only filters DNS queries locally. No personal data is intercepted or transmitted to external servers.
Why does it need VPN permission?
It creates a local VPN tunnel on your device to route and filter DNS requests on-device. It is not a remote VPN service.
Does it work with all apps?
Yes, it works system-wide. You can also whitelist specific apps or use the firewall feature to manage access.
Is it really free?
Yes! BlockAds is 100% free, open-source, and contains no in-app purchases or ads.
Will it slow down my internet?
No. DNS filtering is extremely lightweight. It actually speeds up your browsing and saves battery by preventing ads from loading.

BlockAds is free, open source, and built with privacy in mind. Download now and take back control of your Android experience!

WhatsNew:

- Added option to toggle DNS log recording in the Logs screen
- Enabled full-tunnel mode by default for enhanced privacy
- Fixed website hangs caused by QUIC/UDP timeouts
- Fixed local.pwhs.app resolution in full-tunnel mode
- Improved HTTPS filtering with cert/CA/DNS hardening

Anti-Features:

NonFreeNet (this application promotes/depends a non-Free network service):
⇒ Filter lists are loaded from Github & Co.

Download Metadata Source Issues ChangeLog

While you can download the APKs here directly, you should preferably use an F-Droid client so the app stays up-to-date on your device. Some clients have this repo enabled by default, e.g. Neo Store, Droid-ify, or, of course, the IzzyOnDroid client by Sunil. With others (like the official client) you'll have to add this repo manually (see the hint on top of the package list for how to do that).

Packages

Version 6.5.2 (2026-07-03)

Android Versions:

Target: 16.0
MinVer: 7.0
ABIs: arm64-v8a

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Malware-Check:Passed

20 Libraries detected:

Libraries:

Android Support v4 (Development Framework)
The Android Support Library is not actually a single library, but rather a collection of libraries that can roughly be divided into two groups: compatibility and component libraries. For details, please see Understanding the Android Support Library.
AppCompat (Utility)
support newer Android features on older Android versions.
Jetpack Compose (Development Framework)
a framework to define UIs programmatically with composable functions that describe its shape and data dependencies.
Androidx Core (Utility)
a static library that you can add to your Android application in order to use APIs that are either not available for older platform versions or utility APIs that aren't a part of the framework APIs.
DataStore (Development Aid)
stores data asynchronously, consistently, and transactionally, overcoming some of the drawbacks of SharedPreferences.
Android Emoji2 Compat (UI Component)
core library to enable emoji compatibility in Kitkat and newer devices to avoid the empty emoji characters.
AndroidX Fragment (UI Component)
AndroidX library to encapsulate part of the user interface or behavior into reusable components.
Androidx Graphics (Utility)
leverages graphics facilities across multiple Android platform releases.
Lifecycle (Utility)
perform actions in response to a change in the lifecycle status of another component, such as activities and fragments.
ProfileInstaller (Utility)
AndroidX library that enables libraries to prepopulate ahead of time compilation traces to be read by ART.
Room (Utility)
a persistence library that provides an abstraction layer over SQLite to allow for more robust database access while harnessing the full power of SQLite.
Startup (Utility)
AndroidX library to implement a straightforward, performant way to initialize components at app startup.
Android Jetpack VersionedParcelable (Utility)
Provides a stable but relatively compact binary serialization format that can be passed across processes or persisted safely.
Jetpack WindowManager Library (Utility)
enables application developers to support new device form factors and multi-window environments. The library provides a common API surface for API versions 14 and later. Especially provides additional functionality on foldable devices.
WorkManager (Utility)
an API that makes it easy to schedule deferrable, asynchronous tasks that must be run reliably .
Accompanist (Utility)
a collection of extension libraries for Jetpack Compose.
Ktor (Development Framework)
framework for quickly creating connected applications in Kotlin with minimal effort.
Kotlin (Utility)
The Kotlin Programming Language
KOIN (Utility)
a small library to lets you write dependency injection in a concise and pragmatic way.

Payment Modules:

None found
a small library to lets you write dependency injection in a concise and pragmatic way.

Ads & Analytics:

Sentry SDK for JavaⓉ (Mobile Analytics)
provides out-of-the-box support for many popular JVM based frameworks and libraries, including Android, Log4j, Logback, and more – with crash reporting, performance data etc. Can be self-hosted.

Download (17 M)

Version 6.5.1 (2026-06-14)

Android Versions:

Target: 16.0
MinVer: 7.0
ABIs: arm64-v8a

App Configuration & Special Access

Permissions:

Malware-Check:Passed

20 Libraries detected:

Libraries:

Android Support v4 (Development Framework)
The Android Support Library is not actually a single library, but rather a collection of libraries that can roughly be divided into two groups: compatibility and component libraries. For details, please see Understanding the Android Support Library.
AppCompat (Utility)
support newer Android features on older Android versions.
Jetpack Compose (Development Framework)
a framework to define UIs programmatically with composable functions that describe its shape and data dependencies.
Androidx Core (Utility)
a static library that you can add to your Android application in order to use APIs that are either not available for older platform versions or utility APIs that aren't a part of the framework APIs.
DataStore (Development Aid)
stores data asynchronously, consistently, and transactionally, overcoming some of the drawbacks of SharedPreferences.
Android Emoji2 Compat (UI Component)
core library to enable emoji compatibility in Kitkat and newer devices to avoid the empty emoji characters.
AndroidX Fragment (UI Component)
AndroidX library to encapsulate part of the user interface or behavior into reusable components.
Androidx Graphics (Utility)
leverages graphics facilities across multiple Android platform releases.
Lifecycle (Utility)
perform actions in response to a change in the lifecycle status of another component, such as activities and fragments.
ProfileInstaller (Utility)
AndroidX library that enables libraries to prepopulate ahead of time compilation traces to be read by ART.
Room (Utility)
a persistence library that provides an abstraction layer over SQLite to allow for more robust database access while harnessing the full power of SQLite.
Startup (Utility)
AndroidX library to implement a straightforward, performant way to initialize components at app startup.
Android Jetpack VersionedParcelable (Utility)
Provides a stable but relatively compact binary serialization format that can be passed across processes or persisted safely.
Jetpack WindowManager Library (Utility)
enables application developers to support new device form factors and multi-window environments. The library provides a common API surface for API versions 14 and later. Especially provides additional functionality on foldable devices.
WorkManager (Utility)
an API that makes it easy to schedule deferrable, asynchronous tasks that must be run reliably .
Accompanist (Utility)
a collection of extension libraries for Jetpack Compose.
Ktor (Development Framework)
framework for quickly creating connected applications in Kotlin with minimal effort.
Kotlin (Utility)
The Kotlin Programming Language
KOIN (Utility)
a small library to lets you write dependency injection in a concise and pragmatic way.

Payment Modules:

None found
a small library to lets you write dependency injection in a concise and pragmatic way.

Ads & Analytics:

Sentry SDK for JavaⓉ (Mobile Analytics)
provides out-of-the-box support for many popular JVM based frameworks and libraries, including Android, Log4j, Logback, and more – with crash reporting, performance data etc. Can be self-hosted.

Download (17 M)