If you are familiar with most free apps on the Google play store I have no doubt that you must have had an annoying ad getting on your way and you were like “how can I block this ads?” Well I won’t support your decision to block the ads because since the app was given for free, developers try to monetize them with ads to make some money from their work.
If however you insist on blocking the ads, this post will walk you through some easy steps to block annoying ads on most free android apps.
It is important to note that most free ad blockers on android smartphones only work on rooted devices, likewise the method we are using here is for only rooted android smartphones.
Block Ads using ‘hosts’ file
This method uses ‘hosts’ file to block ads. This method blocks all ads in your device, including the ones shown in various apps and games. This method works only for rooted devices just as i said.
What is a ‘hosts’ file?
‘hosts’ file is a plain-text file in an operating system to map hostnames (like anything.com) to its IP address. Whenever you try to launch a website using its hostname, the operating system will usually search the ‘hosts’ file to find the corresponding IP address first.
If the search is successful, then its mapped IP address is used; otherwise a query is sent to DNS (Domain Name Service) to find the IP address of that hostname.
Setting Up ‘hosts’ file
On the computer, open MVPS (or pgl.yoyo.org or hostfile.mine.nu) on your browser. A plain-text page will open. Save this page as the name hosts in the computer.
Using Bluetooth or a USB connection, copy this hosts file from your computer to your Android device. Note the file path.
On your Android, open the file manager in your device and copy the hosts file to /etc or /system/etc. Accessing this location may require you to ‘allow super user permissions’ to the file manager.
Rename the original hosts file (if present) to a .txt or .bak extension. Paste the saved hosts file here. Reboot your Android and your Android is now ad-free.
My subsequent post will reveal some apps for blocking ads on android smartphones. Stay tuned.
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