One of the ways web sites and mobile app developers make money is through the sale of advertising space to third party ad networks. Ausdroid, for example, runs Google AdSense ads to help us cover our operating costs. While we think our ads are relatively unobtrusive, sometimes that’s not so. Some websites and mobile apps have really annoying ads that distract you from the task at hand, and for as long as there have been ads, there have been people who can’t stand them.
Adblock Plus is a web-browser extension that has been around for years in the desktop space, supporting Chrome, Firefox, Opera and it is a simple, effective way to prevent ads from loading in your browser. It works well, it’s free, and it’s simple to use.
If you want to block ads on Android, however, you’ve been a bit more restricted. In the past, this has required having a rooted device, and either manually editing your /etc/hosts file, or installing an app from the Play Store.
With Adblock Plus for Android, that’s now changed. While the functionality is a little restricted without a rooted device, you can use Adblock Plus for Android on your stock Android phone or tablet to block ads in apps and on the web while using wifi, without modifying anything on your phone that will break things or vanquish warranty rights.
If you’re rooted, of course the functionality is greater. Rooted users are able to block ads over 3G and Wifi for both apps and web browsing.
While this is a bit questionable morally, we understand that there are some users and some situations where blocking ads might be desirable. However, we would be irresponsible if we didn’t encourage you to use common sense here, especially when it comes to ad-supported free services that would cease to exist without advertising revenue.
AdBlock Plus for Android is now available on the Play Store for free. Check it out.
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