How To Block Ads On Spotify App

Let's admit it: We all hate ads. They are often intrusive and distract us from enjoying the pure reading and entertainment experience. Don't you just hate them when they pop up abruptly while you're playing videos on YouTube, or while playing a game, and even more so when they appear out of nowhere (yeah, those pesky pop-ups) on a web-page in your iPhone browser app? Although, being a publisher myself, I support the cause of ads, but from consumers' point of view, it's important to learn how to block ads. In this post today, I will share how to block ads on iPhone and iPad easily. I've tested these tips on my own and I can confirm that they work well even in 2021:

On an iPhone, we usually see ads on 2 major places:

Web browsers (like Safari / Chrome / Firefox)
Apps (like YouTube, Music, and Games)

Therefore, I will break this post into 3 parts:

Part 1: How to block ads on Safari (the default iOS web browser)
Part 2: How to block ads on other web browsers in iOS?
Part 3: How to block ads on iPhone apps

How to block ads on Safari in your iPhone and iPad?

Trick 1: Enable Content Blockers

You can block all ads on Safari, the default iOS web browser, by utilizing the 'Content Blocker' feature. This feature is available as an option in the Safari settings menu once you've downloaded a content blocker app (like AdGuard) on your iPhone or iPad. Here is how you can do this step-by-step:

Download AdGuard on your iPhone / iPad
Open the Settings app
Go to Safari inside the settings menu and there you will find 'Content Blocker' as a toggle option
There you will see a toggle switch option to enable the AdGuard app. That's it. It will block all ads and trackers in the Safari web browser on your iPhone and iPad.

Here are some helpful screenshots:

For more control beyond blocking of ads (like tracking protection, social media filters, blocking in-page pop-ups, and third party widgets), you can further fine tune these custom filters inside the AdGuard app on your iPhone.

Update:

It has been observed that AdGuard has moved the 'Custom Filters' option to a paid plan. That's not a problem. Even with its default basic filters, you can ensure an ad-free experience on Safari.

If you are looking for an alternative content blocker for blocking ads in Safari, or in case Adguard doesn't work as expected, you may like to give Adlock app a try.

You can configure it exactly the same way as we did for AdGuard above. Still, let me quickly guide you through the required steps one more time:

Go to iPhone settings, then tap on Safari sub-settings and then under the content blockers turn on all the blockers provided by Adlock – Custom, General, Privacy & Social.
Once you've updated these settings, launch the Adlock app and let it automatically update the ad blocking filters. That's it. You can now browse with Safari without any ads or visual distractions.

Trick 2: Enable Reader View in Safari

Do you know that Safari has an in-built reader mode that strips web pages of all the ads, images, videos, and scripts. This has a great utility, especially when you read lots of web articles on Safari. It even lets you customize the look and feel of your article by changing the font type, size, and even the background color of your choice (white, sepia, grey or black background)

How to block ads on other web browsers in iOS?

There are many private web browsers for iPhone (such as DuckDuckGo and FireFox Focus) which offer in-built ad-blocking feature. They not only block ads on your iPhone but also block all trackers and scripts that slow down a web-page and spoil your reading experience. And the best part is that they are free. I encourage you to read my post: 5 best private browsers for iPhone to protect your digital footprints.

How to block ads in iPhone/iOS apps?

Now that you know how to block ads in web browsers on your iPhone and iPad, let's shift our focus to other apps, especially YouTube, Music, and Games. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could block ads on all the apps we use on our iOS device? Yay! That's possible. I've done this, and now I will share how you can do this too!

Trick 1: Adlock (Premium)

I've already discussed the role of Adlock (free version) as a content blocker that effectively blocks all ads in Safari. However, it also provides an optional premium upgrade (costs $5 a year) that helps you block ads everywhere on your iPhone. It creates a VPN profile which has advanced filters to block ads across all the apps on your iPhone. With this feature enabled, Adlock almost passed ad-blocking test on popular apps like YouTube and Spotify. Out of 20 randomly played YouTube videos, I saw an ad popping up just 1 time. Not sure, why! Maybe that advertiser was not yet covered in their ad-filter. I also tested it on a few other ad-supported apps and games. It worked as expected!

They offer a free 7 day trial. So I suggest you to take the trial and test the effectiveness of the app yourself. Once you are satisfied, you can opt for the premium upgrade.

Trick 2: Use AdGuard DNS (Free)

As already discussed, AdGuard as a content blocker blocks all kinds of ads inside Safari web browser. But what about system-wide blocking of ads on your iPhone? We can do this with AdGuard DNS – a foolproof way to block ads on iPhone without even installing an app. It is free and allows system-wide blocking of ads, and that includes the ads seen in videos, apps and websites. But this works only on a WiFi network connection. So, once you have connected to a secured WiFi network, follow the below-mentioned steps to block ads in all iPhone apps:

Inside the WiFi settings on your iPhone or iPad, tap on the blue-colored information icon right next to the connected WiFi network.

Now tap on 'Configure DNS' and select 'Manual' in DNS settings.
Once there, take a screenshot of your default DNS address or note them somewhere so that you can restore them easily should anything goes wrong.
Now delete the default DNS address in the manual settings and add the following DNS addresses provided by AdGuard:

Adguard's Custom DNS address

Once you've successfully configured the above settings on your iOS device, you can verify them by visiting the official webpage of AdGuard DNS. If you're configured correctly, you will see a message like this:

Once these DNS settings are activated, it will start blocking ads in all iPhone apps. As far as gaming apps are concerned, I've tested this with popular apps like Talking Tom Cat and Candy Crush. Believe me, I didn't see even a single ad or those annoying pop-ups while playing these games.

In addition, AdGuard also provides a family filter DNS which, besides blocking unsolicited tracking and ads, also provides protection against adult content, malicious websites, and enables safe browsing.

Also, please note: If you are trying to block ads inside the official YouTube app for iPhone, the custom DNS server trick might not work. For an ad-free YouTube experience on your iPhone, follow these steps:

Enable content blocker / AdGuard DNS (as shown above)
Open up YouTube inside a web browser like Safari or Chrome.
You won't see any ads on YouTube now!

Drawbacks of using AdGuard DNS:

This doesn't work on mobile data. You must connect to a WiFi network to enable these settings. To block ads over mobile data on your iPhone/iPad, use either the 'Content Blocker' trick or use a VPN based ad-blocker.
Any app that requires ads for running will no longer work on your device.

What's Your Experience?

I hope you have found this post useful. What has been your experience dealing with annoying apps and pop-ups on your iOS device? Please share your thoughts.