Not really impressed with how the free AdGuard works for me, I'm interested in either free or paid app suggestions and I'd like to hear experiences from people who use them. Thank you!
I've been using AdGuard DNS and I've been really happy with it. What don't you like about it? It would help to recommend another one know know specifically what the issue is.
And to confirm, you're talking about using the "Private DNS" functionality in Android?
I've had a few instances where it has seemingly turned off by itself, and I was also put off by its (imo) excessive monetization and high yearly price. Yeah, I'm using the DNS function.
Weird, I've never had it turn off on me. I'm using the free DNS without using an app or anything so there's no communication from them ever... so I haven't experience any monetization stuff at all.
I feel like we're talking about completely different things with how different our experiences are. How bizzare!
You can try DNS like Control D or NextDNS which block ads and trackers. I’m using the first one and for the exception of a few false positive it has been good to me.
As for an app, back in the days I used Blockada which wasn’t bad. Don’t know if its still around thought.
I dont have a good alternative app, but if you have the hardware to spare, setting up a Pihole is a pretty simple affair. It works super well for blocking ads at the DNS level.
The upside is that it will work for everything on your network, with no extra app to install.
The downside is that without jumping through some hoops, it will only work when you're connected to your home network.
As another downside, when I was using PiHole, I would get random things not working like random Xbox functions. You have to be really on top of the configuration to catch all the weird cases like that.
Ironically, switching to AdGuard DNS solved all that for me while providing the same network-level protection. And it works on my phone too. Shame OP isn't into it. I think it's an amazing product, especially considering the price (free FTW).