yashsingh1/xdaforums huggingface dataset:
[Android Apps and Games] zgfg:
You should decide yourself which of the three you want

I don't know for sure about priorities and DNS resolution steps between them but when you use all in parallel you never know if certain site was blocked thanks to AdAway or by your private DNS.

And if you have to unblock some site, you could whitelist in AdAway but it could still remain blocked because of your private DNS

People then in similar cases report a problem and ask for help, but it turns out that problem was not e.g. on AdAway (where they reported a 'problem'), but on the other side (VPN DNS, firewall or something else blocking their app to work)
[Android Apps and Games] Josh McGrath:
Thanks for the help, I don't really do anything sketchy on my phone other than root apps and apks. I'm not really sure what the private dns does but I assume it blocks ads when using adguards dns kinda like adaways vpn style. So is there any benefit to adding the private dns?
[Android Apps and Games] zgfg:
Please, google, read and decide yourself which way you want to go for ad-blocking.
[Android Apps and Games] Josh McGrath:
I appreciate the reply but I am not asking which to use. I am happy with Adaway root, but what I am wondering is if adding Adguards private dns would be beneficial at all (other than which you did mention above about blocking some other sites that may not be blocked by the adaway hosts file)
[Android Apps and Games] 64ashg:
Google terms like dns, private dns android, dns leaks, isp tracking dns, dns providers and hosts blocking dns. Once you come out of that rabbit hole, possibly more knowledgeable, then decide for yourself if its important for you and which to use.

Spoilers: Just using adaway doesn't stop tracking or gives privacy right away.

PS Those are valid questions you are asking, just ask google, not a adblock thread in xda. I found out that way years ago before private dns existed in android and did it via magisk/root.
[Android Apps and Games] Josh McGrath:
I use xprivacy lua for app tracking, VPN with all dns leaks, including ipv6 leaks and webRTC tested and clear while using Adaway so I'm not new to this ballgame here.

However, I guess it's more complicated than I thought and may just assume that it's not needed. On my 7t, it was automatically on adguards dns so that is why I was asking since my op8 was set on "off".

Thanks for the reply though. I'm really happy with Adaway in all points
[Android Apps and Games] pycxe-01:
I use AdGuard v3.4.120 in addition to AdAway v4.3.6 & I have nothing to complain about: I simply love the AdGuard DNS + all the other AdGuard filters, especially those Annoyances filters! Try, fail & try again! Only you can set up your gadgets/smartphone so that it would suit your needs! No one else can do that for you! ?
[Android Apps and Games] 64ashg:
If you aren't doing anything that absolutely requires good ping, i guess you can also adGuard private dns to the mix too.

Otherwise, quite a bulletproof solution you have going for yourself. I don't remember oneplus guving adGuard dns preconfigured. I'd keep that configured nonetheless..
[Android Apps and Games] elma13:
Hey, sorry for being late.

I can't figure what is the problem. On DNS logger I get some links, but when I allow them the issue remains. Turning off Adaway instantly fixes it.

This is not a task you do regularly, so it's pretty easy to fix, but it can cause "nightmares" to those who are facing it for the first time. Sorry for not being more helpful.
[Android Apps and Games] malavi:
Facing same issue :( don't know what else could I try..
[Android Apps and Games] jawz101:
If it is the Adaway list it would have to be one of those here https://github.com/AdAway/adaway.github.io/blob/master/hosts.txt

You may want to try whitelisting entries in the logger as you attempt to log into Yahoo mail until it starts working. That's kinda how I troubleshoot.
[Android Apps and Games] guest4711:
Please reboot after enabling systemless hosts in Magisk.
[Android Apps and Games] malavi:
Yes, after enabling systemless host on magisk app i rebooted... Still telling me it couldn't tho ?

Here's the logcat error message:

Failed to update hosts file.

org.adaway.model.hostsinstall.HostsInstallException: The symlink to the hosts file target is missing.

at org.adaway.model.hostsinstall.HostsInstallModel.applyHostsFile(HostsInstallModel.java:444)

at org.adaway.ui.home.HostsInstallViewModel.lambda$update$2$HostsInstallViewModel(HostsInstallViewModel.java:124)

at org.adaway.ui.home.-$$Lambda$HostsInstallViewModel$hr_O0jGNR8I8qQyGthIQYups81s.run(Unknown Source:2)

at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1167)

at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:641)

at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:923)
[Android Apps and Games] guest4711:
When using systemless hosts you should not alter the location of the host file in AdAways settings.

It should be /system/etc/hosts .
[Android Apps and Games] pycxe-01:
Why would anyone want to move the default hosts file to another place? ?
[Android Apps and Games] guest4711:
In the old days /system was mounted read/only but could be remounted read/write. So it was a common solution to replace /system/etc/hosts once by a link pointing to a place where AdAway could write the file without need to remount /system (or aquiring root).
[Android Apps and Games] PerfectSlayer:
Hi all,

It has been a month since the last release and I think it's time to move on to stable.

I will never be satisfied by the all features I still have to ship nor the workarounds that must be implemented but I honestly think it is good enough for a solo developer on its free time.

So great news today: this version will move to the stable channel and the F-Droid store!

In addition to to some bug fixes, like the application exclusion list for VPN ad blocking method or a new hosts parser for very large hosts file (1M+ entries), this version takes a special care to the application update process.

There a new dedicated UI to this feature to show download progress and changelog. Thanks to a backend upgrade, it will also support updating F-Droid apk versions for those which download AdAway from F-Droid without using F-Droid Android client.

I also integrated the last state of translations. About 130 pull requests! Thanks to all translators that take of their time to make the application accessible to others.

If you are curious, I publish a monthly updated World map of AdAway users and I am proud to see the app is helping people all over the world

I must also thanks all donators and GitHub sponsors that keep me motivated on this projects by sending greetings and thanks. Thanks a ton you all! ❤

Changelog:

Add application update UI

Add F-Droid apk support to built-in updater

Add custom hosts file parser for big hosts file (1M+ entries, way slower but memory friendly)

Fix VPN app exclusion on Android 11

Update AndroidX and Sentry dependencies

Update translations

Thanks:

Special thanks to spiou, drothenberger and gallegonovato for theirs helpful bug reports.

Download:

AdAway 5.1.0
[Android Apps and Games] malavi:
Thank you so much! I changed it the first time I tried to activate it, because the app itself told me so.. :confused: Just changed it to default /system/etc/hosts and it worked like a charm! :highfive:
[Android Apps and Games] guest4711:
It's history: On older devices the most common problem was "no space left on /system" so one step was to move the hostfile to another location and making a symlink to it.
[Android Apps and Games] Gitah.:
Just double checking, the latest version compatible with < Android 8 is the one on F-Droid, 4.3.6?

If that's the case the github page should be updated since it states that the stable build is compatible with 4.1 and up but then it links 5.1.0.
[Android Apps and Games] Amd4life:
What is the best host file to block ads populated in the upper top portion of the latest Amazon app?
[Android Apps and Games] r0tt0r:
Hello and nicely done to fellow adaway crew. nice to see this evolving though i have an issue that somewhat hinders me using the awesome product you serve. im not rooted anymore, is like yeay, you just brought up whats needed, but i also use vpn so that means either use vpn or have ads purged. i looked for ways to chain 2 vpn apps but it seems due googles limitation not possible. any advice or sthg that would allow me to use this while beeing vpn,ed and unrooted welcome. the dns option of adguard is not welcomed
[Android Apps and Games] natanvarga:
I use nextdns. Filter lists can be configured.
[Android Apps and Games] andy356:
[MENTION=2822685]PerfectSlayer[/MENTION] After updating from v4 to v5, AdAway seems to have difficulty handling the Energised Ultimate list. It force closed a couple times before it was finally able to finish parsing all the lists.

This is only a suspicion, mind. It might not be the Energised Ultimate list, but it probably is, since it has 1M+ hosts, and you mentioned that you added a new custom parser for those.
[Android Apps and Games] PerfectSlayer:
Can you post me somewhere a logcat of the FC? I guess it's an OOM exception but I would like to be sure.

The 1M hosts limit was arbitrarily set (from tests with a Pixel 2 device) but it should depend of the device specification.

I need to find a way to evaluate the proper limit (it might even be dynamic...) because the memory friendly parser is really slow compared to the default one!
[Android Apps and Games] andy356:
Well, the app is now laughing at me and not crashing, possibly because the operation succeeded in one of the tries. I'll see if I can get a log the next time it needs an update.
[Android Apps and Games] Gandicela:
Question, please. I'm trying this v5.1.0 without root, but am unable to proceed further.

Any ideas?
[Android Apps and Games] D1l777:
I just updated to 5.1 from F-droid and I can't get Adaway to use root ad blocking anymore. I made sure systemless host was on in magisk, tried turning it off, rebooting, turning it back on and rebooting but the root option in adaway is still greyed out. Anyone got any suggestions? Thanks!

Edit: fixed the problem. Uninstalled and reinstalled and it gave me the option to choose root then. Leaving this in case someone else runs in to the same issue :)
[Android Apps and Games] DeadlyToast:
I just updated to 5.1 and man that's a great look! And I don't even need to reboot the phone after every list update? That's great!

Thanks dev for the app and the update!
[Android Apps and Games] JGradyO:
Rebooting was optional. It removes cached DNS entries, and will serve the same purpose now as it served in older (i.e., 4.x) versions, if you use the rooted hosts file method. If you're OK letting time expire your cache, don't reboot.
[Android Apps and Games] mrrocketdog:
".........(i.e., 4.x) versions , ..... . heck i'm still on v.3.3. (of course i'm on nouget [emoji51] ) but working great still. ty [MENTION=2822685]PerfectSlayer[/MENTION].:good:
[Android Apps and Games] celestialspring:
Having same issue on redmi note 8, miui 12 global
[Android Apps and Games] PerfectSlayer:
Thanks everyone for all your feedback and messages. This new version seem appreciated :highfive:

Did you have any previous version installed or did you just install the app? If you were upgrading, from which version did you came from?

Thanks for the information. Are you saying the app was launching but no ad blocking option was active in app settings?

Then you reinstalled the app and, this time, it asked you to choose the ad blocking to use (but it didn't asked it after you upgrade).
[Android Apps and Games] celestialspring:
I didn't have adaway installed before.

I do have blokada v5 which I disabled before installing adaway.
[Android Apps and Games] ecera:
Hi, the newest update v5.1.0 seems to break the functionality of a few apps. Two specifically for me. One is the Amazon app(connection error) and the other was my Wells Fargo banking app(says currently unavailable when trying to sign-in). I was able to recreate on my wife's phone as well. Downgrading to v4.3.6 seems to fix the issue. It seems like both versions use the same host sources so I'm not sure what could be causing this to happen. Just thought I'd report incase someone else has similar issues.
[Android Apps and Games] Golf c:
You have to whitelist the host files for those apps. Run a DNS log and try to get into the apps. Then it will tell you which host files are causing the problems. I had to do that for a couple apps including Amazon.
[Android Apps and Games] ecera:
Thanks for the quick reply! I'll do that.
[Android Apps and Games] D1l777:
I updated the app through F-droid and when I opened it it was trying to use VPN blocking. So I paused it and checked the settings and the root option was greyed out. I checked a few apps with it still paused and it acted like it was still blocking ads in certain apps. I then uninstalled it and reinstalled through f-droid and when I opened it it gave me the option to choose root or vpn, chose root and everything was back to normal.
[Android Apps and Games] Oswald Boelcke:
As a few guys experience issue I'd just like to share mine. 4 days ago, immediately after I realised the availabilty of v5.1.0 I downloaded that version from Github and installed it "over" my former v4.3.6.

No issue during installation, no issues at all during the setup wizard. As usual used the root method, also because I can't use the VPN method as it wouldn't allow me to anylonger use my OpenVPN. I gratefully noted that my complete list of hosts, my personal black- and whitelists were just completely taken over from v4.3.6; something, I even appreciated more after I recognised that the from 4.3.6 exported json-file wasn't readible by v5.1.0.

TL;DR: All fine here! [MENTION=2822685]PerfectSlayer[/MENTION] Thanks very much for your continous and excellent work to the benefit of the XDA community and the support you permanently provide here.:highfive:

Device: Samsung SM-G955F with LOS 16.0 rooted.
[Android Apps and Games] jawz101:
if it's in the adaway host file please let me know

https://github.com/AdAway/adaway.github.io/blob/master/hosts.txt
[Android Apps and Games] Golf c:
Yep. I see a couple in there.

Edit: Not sure which ones are causing the problem. I tried whitelisting the one that caused a logcat error and that didn't get rid of the problem. So I whitelisted all the hosts that came up on the DNS log. See screenshot
[Android Apps and Games] jawz101:
blocking any of those in that screenshot besides the fls-na one will cause you problems. I have poked at them many times. And even the fls-na one feels like it occasionally causes problems but definitely the others shouldn't be blocked

fls-na.amazon.com notes here. adding this for my future reference
[Android Apps and Games] Golf c:
Fls-na was the one that caused the logcat error. But after whitelisting it, the problem still existed. So I did all of them.
[Android Apps and Games] jawz101:
After looking into the fls-na one it looks like it's this Forrester Log Service. Forrester is a big business analytic company that gathers data on market trends and junk.

https://services.forrester.com/Amazon

https://www.adweek.com/digital/adve...ot-more-on-amazon-in-2020-forrester-predicts/

Some of the articles mentioning their relationship would say things like Forrester found 30% of customers check prices on Amazon before making a purchase. Stuff like that is kinda what we want to block if at all possible.
[Android Apps and Games] Golf c:
Blocking that host definitely screws the pooch.
[Android Apps and Games] DeadlyToast:
Oh, I thought that I had to reboot since it prompted me after every update. Thanks for the tip!
[Android Apps and Games] PerfectSlayer:
Hi all,

Just a quick update about Paypal and donations because someone tell me on twitter he can't donate.

The V5 seems to be pretty popular and I received a lot of donations (some dozens) the past few days.

That is awesome but Paypal has locked my account because I didn't verified my id... I really don't have the habit to get so many transactions so I wasn't aware of this issue! (what a noob I do...)

I just did all the paperwork and my account will be verified in the next 2 to 4 business days.

Thanks all for your support and donations ❤

To be honest, all the donations are about ~300€. It's about ~15€ / month of beta development.

It will allow me to run the back-end hosting, buy a development device when the Pixel 2 you offered me will no more receive system update, buy a data plan to test VPN on my dev device, etc...

It is money that leaves my mind peaceful when I know I have to make some expense for the project. Thanks again you all!
[Android Apps and Games] :
Im confused

So does 5.1.0 need the systemless hosts module anymore? My ROM is LineageOS MicroG and Magisk, without that module, but it still seems to work.
[Android Apps and Games] Golf c:
If your using the root method, than yes. If your using the VPN method, than No.
[Android Apps and Games] :
It seems to work because my /system partition was already read-write, which is weird, because i thought it's read-only by default. It was Android 10 btw.
[Android Apps and Games] Golf c:
Maybe Lineage managed to make the system R/W? Pretty cool and handy.
[Android Apps and Games] zgfg:
If your phone model was originally released with Android earlier than 10, then System was most likely R/W, and it stayed so when they upgraded firmware to A10
[Android Apps and Games] Gandicela:
[MENTION=2822685]PerfectSlayer[/MENTION]

I've no other versions prior to v5.1.0. So it's fresh install.
[Android Apps and Games] jawz101:
See I don't get the doggy with the fls- one. In fact, I'm thinking of adding their other geographic entries since I assume this one is only for North America users.

I would probably add all of these because I'm certain that's how Forrester would compare how well Amazon ads compare to Google's Doubleclick ads

fls-cn.amazon.cn
fls-cn.amazon.com
fls-eu.amazon-adsystem.com
fls-eu.amazon.ae
fls-eu.amazon.co.uk
fls-eu.amazon.com
fls-eu.amazon.de
fls-eu.amazon.es
fls-eu.amazon.fr
fls-eu.amazon.in
fls-eu.amazon.it
fls-eu.amazon.nl
fls-eu.amazon.sa
fls-eu.amazon.se
fls-fe.amazon-adsystem.com
fls-fe.amazon.co.jp
fls-fe.amazon.com
fls-fe.amazon.com.au
fls-fe.amazon.sg
fls-na.amazon-adsystem.com
fls-na.amazon.ca
fls-na.amazon.com
fls-na.amazon.com.br
fls-na.amazon.com.mx
fls.doubleclick.net
[Android Apps and Games] jacobyo7:
Hi, the new AdAway 5.1.0 break my banking app, I can log in but can't access any fuctions within app as it return "you need an internet access". When I disable ad blocking it work again. With AdAway 4.3.6 I have no problem at all, it work as good for everything else and my banking app work good too. I use the Desjardins banking app (Canada)

I tried to log DNS request, reproduce the error, then whitelist everything the log captured, but the error persist, the only way to make it work is to disable ad blocking or downgrade to AdAway 4.3.6

Any help ? It's no big deal I can use 4.3.6 just fine, but eventually I would like to keep AdAway up to date. Thank you !
[Android Apps and Games] marciozomb13:
Adaway don't block anything without the host list. Use the link to wiki on OP and the dns monitoring to whitelist the necessary links.
[Android Apps and Games] jacobyo7:
As I said, I already tried to log DNS request, reproduce the error, then whitelist everything the log captured, but it didn't solved the problem. And I don't see anything in the wiki that can help me further, so that's why I'm asking for help
[Android Apps and Games] marciozomb13:
Remember you must deactivate Adaway before log dns, the app must work after deactivate adaway.
[Android Apps and Games] jacobyo7:
Oh yeah, I might have forgot that step ! I will try again and report my results ! Thanks !

Edit : that was the problem I managed to capture 10 link that was breaking my banking app, but I keep finding others with time. I also found, it is not the fault of adaway 5.1.0 in particular, my host list was just not up to date, so when I reinstall 4.3.6 and update host it break my banking app also.

I don't know why the host was updated with all those link if they are used for other than ads, it is quite annoying to find them and whitelist them one by one...
[Android Apps and Games] geepnozeex:
AdAway 5.1.0 not work on android 11

root is on
[Android Apps and Games] JudgeDread11:
Working fine for me on android 11. OnePlus 7, evolution X, latest Magisk.

Maybe provide more information if you'd like some help.
[Android Apps and Games] r0tt0r:
appreciate recommendations though i dont want to move away from my lets say trusted vpn provider, i already opened a feature request there to allow setting blocklists via the vpn app itself
[Android Apps and Games] natanvarga:
I mean you can still use your vpn. Dns can be set independently. See your connection settings such as on the attached screenshot.

Else if i misunderstand what you're trying to say, apologies.
[Android Apps and Games] wodgey:
Non root doesn't seem to allow user apps to communicate with the outside world, on pixel experience, redmi note 8t.

Any pointers or advice greatly appreciated
[Android Apps and Games] zgfg:
It's only about apps needing their own VPN (Android allows only one active)

AdAway, Preferences, VPN based ad blocker, Exclude user applications
[Android Apps and Games] wodgey:
Yeah but it's user apps I need to block (my banking app detects root when I allow them to).

There are certain apps I don't want blocking though, which is why I thought non-root would be better.

I couldn't ever get DNS logging to work for me on previous phones when using root variant so I thought I'd try the non root
[Android Apps and Games] zgfg:
Only for the non-root version you can exclude/whitelist per app, for root/host you can only whitelist per site/domain (you can use DNS login to find which domain to whitelist)
[Android Apps and Games] wodgey:
Yes I realized because it's changing the hosts file.

I've never gotten DNS logging to work properly though, on several different devices. (And using different versions of this app).

:(

I'm thinking I'll go for the root variant but before I do, setup my own DNS server on a raspberry pi, and do the logging directly on that. I just need to know the name-lookups for one particular app (a game called "two dots" that allows you to earn power-ups, by watching a short video). Once I know what servers their ads are piped from, I'll delete them from the backlist
[Android Apps and Games] wodgey:
Sorry for thread jacking but I thought the people here would be knowledgeable in this specific area.

Does a DNS server NEED to be exposed to the internet to work? Is propagation a two-way affair that needs port 53 forwarded from my router or can I leave it closed, to just use it locally at home?

I've found a nice guide to install m& configured bind server on my 18.04 distro that self-hosts my web & email server but I'd rather not have the increased risk of opening DNS server to the outside world.

I've found this little string, for the purposes of request logging

script -q -c "sudo tcpdump -l port 53 2>/dev/null | grep --line-buffered ' A? ' | cut -d' ' -f8" | tee dns.log
[Android Apps and Games] Pollie81:
I do not quite understand what you are taking about but i seems that it could be related to mine.

As my partner and me switched to new Pixel phones (4a and 5) we started using banking apps so we don't want to root anymore.

As a result i setup adaway rootless/vpn on both phones and it worked fine. Except we both had strange data connection issues were internet world suddenly stop working. A quick activate and deactivate airplane mode would solve it but the issue comes about ten times a day. A lot of checks explained that the issues were in the phones and the only thing i could think of was adaway. 4 days a go i uninstalled adaway and immediately the issues were gone.

It's this a known problem or something that can be fixed?