Assembly Line

Blockads-android

Block ads system-wide on Android using local VPN-based DNS filtering. No root needed. No data collection.

Blockads-android is an open-source network ad blocking project on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 license (strong copyleft), with 2.6k stars. It is built with Kotlin and Go. Its last push was today.

Stars
2.6k
License
GPL-3.0
Activity
Active
Latest release
v7.1.0

Code on GitHub Website

Judgement

What it is
Complete system
What it does
An Android ad blocker that filters DNS through a local VPN without root, with optional HTTPS filtering, per-app rules and built-in lists such as StevenBlack and EasyList.
Adopt it when
You want system-wide ad and tracker blocking on an unrooted Android phone from a free open-source app.
Watch out
Created in February 2026 and moving fast; its HTTPS filtering needs a user-installed CA certificate, which carries real security trade-offs.
Ready for
Usable
Runs as
Mobile app
Built with
Kotlin, Jetpack Compose and Go
How established
Young: started 8 months ago, latest release v7.1.0.
What the license allows
Use inside your business is unrestricted, but anything you distribute that includes it must be released under the same license.

Judged on 2026-11-03 from the project's README and GitHub data. The license and age lines are worked out directly.

Built from

Follow it down: Blockads-android → Kotlin → JDK → LLVM project → runs on a microchip

How compilers were built, back to punched paper tape

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Stars, license and activity come from GitHub and refresh on a rolling hourly schedule. The project's own description is quoted as written.