Fantastic!

The genius of this app is that it blocks ads in EVERY app, not just Safari. It utilizes a fake VPN that goes nowhere and never leaves your device. Any requests your browser makes for ad traffic, trackers, and malware sites are sent to a bottomless pit.

Ads are not just "blocked" as in safari, they are blocked in EVERY app! The ads never even appear because the request for the URL to display the ad never even makes it out of your iOS device. Simply fantastic!

For T-mobile customer:

T-Mobile uses a DNS redirect on its network to collect data on its users AND limit bandwidth to certain services. It is done under five different programs.

Three of those programs can be influenced by the user. The My T-Mobile website can disable all three. The first program is called “insights.” The second is “internet based advertisements” and the third is “Web Guard."

On the My T-Mobile main page, go to “Profile,” Select “Privacy & Notifications,” turn off “Insights” and “Internet Based Ads.”
Then, go to "Family Controls" and select “no restrictions” in “Web Guard.”

The last two programs can not be disabled (you can only pay to cripple one.) The first is bandwidth limiting which provides the “binge on” and “HD Video” services. It limits the bandwidth provided to standard bit rates for streaming music and movies. To temporarily cripple these, you have to pay an extra monthly fee to T-Mobile for HD Streaming. Fail to pay and it reverts.

The last of the two is “DNS Assist” which prevents access to phishing or malicious web queries on the T-Mobile network. It is also responsible for the DNS redirect of Adblock’s "no return VPN redirect" of advertisement URLs.

In the past, T-Mobile used a cookie-based disable of their “DNS Assist" which really didn’t do much and angered customers. Now T-Mobile returns a blank page to failed URLs or 404 errors. The reason for this (per one of their software engineers) is that failed URLs and 404 errors cause network lag waiting a predefined return period. By returning the blank page instantly to failed URLs, 404 errors, and phishing or malicious sites, it saves valuable bandwidth, speeds the web experience, and reduced bandwidth overhead.

So, after all that…..

While the redirect of the fake VPN will produce a 404 error, T-Mobile will now simply serve a blank page URL return. It won’t affect functioning of the Adblock app. It will however lead to and Adblock “yellow” screen that explains that there is a DNS redirect present.

I would recommend disabling “insights” & “internet based advertisements” and “Web Guard” to help Adblock run more efficiently and protect your privacy.

Thanks for a great app!

D_a_x about AdBlock - block ads on iPhone, v2.8.1