GitHub - AdAway/AdAway: AdAway is a free and open source ad blocker for Android.
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AdAway is a free and open source ad blocker for Android. - AdAway/AdAway

I have been using the hosts file based ad blocker AdAway for at least two years. It runs on my smartphones and tablet, all rooted, thus I can run a VPN simultaneously. Since it has always worked flawlessly, I never really took the time to compare it to other similar apps.

But as of today, there hasn’t been an update since 2024.

I am asking for alternatives and the reason you think they’re better.

  • potatoguy@mbin.potato-guy.space
    2·
    5 hours ago

    You also can put the hosts file made for a Linux system into the mounted /system/etc/hosts, the system partition /system can be mounted on /mnt or /mnt/system too.

    As you have root, or with just a custom recovery, you can change it, just going to the recovery, using adb in there and mounting the system partition as rw, then moving the hosts file to the mounted expected location.

    • printf("%s", name);@piefed.blahaj.zoneOPEnglish
      1·
      5 hours ago

      Interesting! And thank you! I already see a hosts file under /system/etc/, for now only containing localhost. Could I not just edit this file and be done? I know too little about how Android works…

      If I do need to mount /system, can I not do it from the stock recovery? I think I saw a “mount system partition” in there the other day.

      • potatoguy@mbin.potato-guy.space
        3·
        4 hours ago

        I know too little about how Android works…

        Yeah, this is a more advanced thing, I think the other methods described on the post are better, if you don’t have a custom recovery AND custom rom. If the device is locked or have the stock rom, it might not boot, because of the signature checking on the image.