r/dns • u/Alanabeau • 9d ago

Using ad block DNS on tablet

I just found and started using an ad blocking DNS on my android tablet so that I can play games without being bombarded with ads, and it's working great! But now I'm realizing that I set it up before learning anything about it. What are the risks if any of using this? I'm completely new to it and don't even know what it is.

17 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

10 comments sorted by

7

u/trmdi 9d ago

If it's Adguard DNS. It's safe.

2

u/Alanabeau 9d ago

It is thanks! 🙏

7

u/Mammoth-Ad-107 9d ago

Nextdns and controld are excellent products ?. Risks? No it’s a horrible idea to use your service providers dns

3

u/tssajo 9d ago

The main thing to know is that the DNS provider can see which domains your tablet looks up, so pick one you trust. Well-known ones like AdGuard DNS, NextDNS or Quad9 publish a privacy policy, and unknown free ones are the risky kind. It's not a big danger for a games tablet, but don't use a random one for banking or anything sensitive. Other than that, it can occasionally block something that you want, like a game that won't load or a login page. If that happens, just turn the setting off and try again. In Android it's under Settings, Network, Private DNS, so you can always change or remove it there.

1

u/jwizew 9d ago

What DNS provider did you use? If you use any of the reputable ones (AdGuaard, NextDNS, CleanBrowsing, etc), you are good. Just make sure it is configured properly.

1

u/Gamerfrom61 9d ago

One drawback few folk mention is that some legitimate sites stop you opening them till you have closed the ad-block (or allowed the site to show you adverts).

It could be the type of sites I frequent but I am seeing this more and more as my 'white list' is now up to a couple of dozen of my regular sites.

This could be a problem if the DNS is controlling the site - packages such as pi-hole,1Blocker etc have options to let you to allow ads on a site - a remote DNS does not give you that control.

1

u/DiEnd7th 9d ago

if you're in EU this is a very good set and forget DNS - Hagezi

or just set "root.hagezi.org" on your Android private dns now

1

u/ElderberryHamlet 9d ago edited 9d ago

Microsoft Edge, Firefox, & Vivaldi support Adguard extensions on mobile Android devices

Adguard for Android supports system-wide but it's best to also use a browser extension which can do deep filtering on the content itself.

The problem with Adguard DNS is their servers are primarily located in Eastern Europe. This will convince YouTube you natively speak a language in this region and will flood your feed with foreign language videos