Set Up 'Private DNS' (AdGuard) on Mobile to Block Ads

DNS-Level Blocking vs. VPN-Based Ad Blockers

Most mobile ad blockers work by routing all your traffic through a local VPN tunnel so the app can inspect and filter requests — effective, but it costs battery, can conflict with an actual VPN you're already using for work, and routes every packet through an extra hop. Private DNS takes a lighter approach: your phone sends its DNS lookups (the "what IP address does this domain name point to" queries every app and browser makes constantly) to an encrypted DNS resolver that refuses to resolve known ad, tracker, and malware domains. No VPN profile, no battery drain from packet inspection, and it works system-wide across every app, not just your browser.

AdGuard runs free public DNS resolvers that do exactly this filtering. Android has a native Private DNS setting built for this exact use case (using DNS-over-TLS); iOS requires installing a small signed configuration profile since it has no equivalent toggle in Settings.

Setting Up Private DNS on Android

1. Open Settings > Network & internet > Private DNS (on Pixel/stock Android; on Samsung it's Settings > Connections > More connection settings > Private DNS).
2. Select Private DNS provider hostname.
3. Enter one of AdGuard's DNS-over-TLS hostnames:

dns.adguard-dns.com

For the family-safe variant with adult content blocking, use:

family.adguard-dns.com

4. Tap Save.

Android applies this immediately, system-wide, across Wi-Fi and mobile data both, without needing a restart. You can verify it's active by opening Settings > Network & internet > Private DNS again and confirming the hostname shows a connected state (no error icon).

Setting Up Encrypted DNS on iOS

iOS doesn't expose a plain hostname field for DNS-over-TLS the way Android does. Instead, AdGuard publishes a signed configuration profile that installs the DoH (DNS-over-HTTPS) resolver settings for you.

1. On the iPhone, open Safari and go to AdGuard's official DNS setup page (adguard-dns.io), which detects your device and offers the correct profile download link.
2. Tap to download the configuration profile; iOS will show a banner saying "Profile Downloaded."
3. Go to Settings — you'll see a new Profile Downloaded entry near the top of the main Settings list.
4. Tap it, then tap Install in the top-right corner, enter your device passcode, and confirm Install again on the warning screen.
5. Once installed, go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management > DNS (or check Settings > Wi-Fi > [network] > Configure DNS is set to Automatic, which lets the profile take over) to confirm the AdGuard resolver is active.

Verifying the Ad Blocking Is Actually Working

1. Open a browser and visit AdGuard's own test page at adguard-dns.io, which shows a live status check confirming whether your connection is routing through AdGuard DNS.
2. Open an ad-heavy news site or app and confirm banner ads and popups are noticeably reduced (DNS blocking can't strip ads embedded directly in a page's own first-party content, only ones served from separate ad-network domains, so results vary by site).

Limitations to Understand

• App-embedded ads aren't touched. Ads served from the same domain as the app/content itself (rather than a third-party ad network) will still load, since DNS blocking can only block entire domains, not specific requests within an allowed domain.
• Public Wi-Fi networks can override it. Some captive-portal Wi-Fi networks (hotel, airport) force their own DNS during the login/portal flow, and a small number of restrictive networks block DNS-over-TLS/HTTPS entirely, which will show as a Private DNS connection error until you switch networks.
• It's not a VPN. Your IP address and general browsing destinations are still visible to your ISP and the sites you visit; DNS filtering only prevents ad/tracker domains from resolving, it doesn't anonymize your traffic.

Turning It Off

On Android, return to the same Private DNS screen and switch back to Automatic or Off. On iOS, go to Settings > General > VPN & Device Management, tap the AdGuard DNS profile, and tap Remove Profile (requires your passcode).