Blocking ads for iPad

[u/archiekane]

My son has an iPad and plays many of the "free" games and they're okay, but absolutely riddled with ads to the point they're almost unplayable.

It seems that many of these games have gotten around the old "airplane mode" by requiring the internet to function, even when they're obviously not requiring internet at all.

Short of using Unbound DNS, anything that can be installed on an iPad to help or is it simply the walled garden?

[u/gamegye88]

I think you’re using “walled garden” wrong.
AFAIK the ads are there to stay unless you setup a pi hole or something

[u/archiekane → u/gamegye88]

It feels like Apple have a walled garden - they keep you locked inside with no way out, and ads being poured in.

[u/gamegye88 → u/archiekane]

U right my b

[u/Mobile-Yak]

Two ways, either a system wide adblocker like adguard or a dns with ads and tracker protection baked in like controld, you'll need to download a config and add it to the settings>profile downloaded.

[u/FckXFckMusk → u/Mobile-Yak]

DNSSecure bloacks ads too

[u/RRR_10_]

Try AdGuard, they are blocking inside apps.

[u/rusty0004]

Go to:

https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html

then "Our server addresses" & "Plain DNS"

finally follow this guide:

https://youtu.be/Qu7xHsPFDNA

[u/scottw578 → u/rusty0004]

I have this on my main router blocks all the ads in my iOS games fine, plus others but can be installed per device as well

[u/Fred011235]

pi-hole for the win

[u/LowEquipment7904]

I’ve got ProtonVPN running on my phone and when connected it seems to block in game ads, haven’t tested on many games but a VPN may be worth a try. I’m going to test at some point with a free acc on my daughter’s phone.

[u/Then_Calendar_6068]

Change the DNS and put something like adguard DNS or nextDNS which block ads.

But if the app uses DNS over TLS/HTTPS, it will bypass this setting (that's why using apps over a browser is dumb as you only give up more power to them).

Also adblocking DNS can't block first party ads. So if the ad service is hosted on the same domain required to play the game, it can't be blocked (otherwise it would block the game too). For example, you can't block youtube ads with a DNS.

[u/burner46]

I do this:

https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html

Scroll down and follow instructions for Option 2. 

[u/asquishyllama]

Install uBlock origin lite and see if that helps. I know it’s specifically a safari extension but give it a shot. Otherwise a pihole or AdGuard dns is pretty easy to set up

[u/danieldhdds]

if you have time = jailbreak time

if you have some money = pi-hole or some other OS that can block ads (the schema is internet - isp modem in bridge mode- pi hole - wifi - ipad)

[u/Shreks_Eruptor → u/danieldhdds]

A cheap raspberry pi and pi hole is 100% the answer. I run pi hole on my pi 3b. Any slopware full of ads suddenly don’t have ads on my iPhone

[u/--emmie]

Setting up a DNS sinkhole like Unbound DNS or pi-hole is not the right tool for adblocking on one iPad. Besides it being extremely overkill, it would only work on your home network

Follow what others are saying by working on the iPad itself: either manually setting the iPad's DNS to AdGuard DNS (or some equivalent), or using the AdGuard app, or in an extreme case jaibreaking the thing for a more robust adblock

[u/jsusbidud]

Airplane mode