I’ve been using AdGuard’s DNS resolver on my Android phone for a couple of months, and I’m pretty satisfied with it.

The idea is that it filters out ad networks at the DNS level, so there is no need to root the phone (nor to install any app). You just put dns.adguard-dns.com in your “private DNS” settings and that’s it.

Recently, though, I’ve seen a couple of people around here mentioning how Adguard is not trustworthy, or “kinda shady”. What’s your take on them? Their privacy policy seems OK to me, but I’d be interested to know more about them.

  • @WhoRoger
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    610 months ago

    I had been using them for ages, but they don’t really filter out that much, so it’s a tad pointless.

    Recently I’ve switched to Rethink DNS where you can select the blocklists you want. And that’s… Super effective.

    • wilberfan
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      10 months ago

      Doesn’t AdGuard allow selecting blocklists?

      • @WhoRoger
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        210 months ago

        Ah I didn’t know that. Is that a service you need to log in or is paid?

        • @[email protected]
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          510 months ago

          Looks like they’re using adguard home, which is self hosted and free. Like pihole but better IMO.

        • wilberfan
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          310 months ago

          This is running on my network on a raspberry pi. It’s free. There’s an annual subscription for AdGuard on my phone.

          • @WhoRoger
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            210 months ago

            Ok. Either way, RethinkDNS doesn’t need to be self hosted either, you just get a custom DNS url that you can enter anywhere (doesn’t even need the app). So it’s up to preference what works for you.

            • @[email protected]
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              310 months ago

              Same thing with adguard-DNS: you can use their online service or download and install on your own server :opensource stuff Bitwarden password manager style.