If there was ever a reason to jailbreak this is it. All these ads (and spyware) in iOS brings to mind the TV show Black Mirror (S01E02) where they are forced to watch ads or otherwise punished. Blocking ads will not only reduce your data usage ($ ka-ching), it will also speed up the loading of the apps, web pages, and increase your privacy.
CLOSE WI-FI:
Easiest way to block ads is to go offline; turn off your Wi-Fi. Of course this is not a great solution.
FIREWALL:
Install a firewall. I use a firewall in combination with ad blockers and has worked purrrfect for me :). View HERE for firewall details.
HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN APPS
HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN WEB BASED CONTENT
HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN CYDIA
HOW TO PREVENT CYDIA ADS OPENING APPLE'S APP STORE
HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN APPS:
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ADBLOCKERNETWORKS:
AdBlockerNetworks by Yllier, free, on Cydia; add to your Sources repo.yllier.net. "Block iAds, Google Ads and more".
Activate each app individually in Settings > AdBlockerNetworks to block its ads. Yllier states if you still have ads in an app to send him a message to his twitter. So far this has worked perfect for me. LOVE IT! :)
Misc Notes:
1. This will not block ads in Cydia as it runs from root (continue on for methods to do that below).
2. AccuWeather app it didn't work (as I think web based), but Yllier's Firewall IP7 and Weblock (below) did work.
WEBLOCK:
Weblock by FutureMind, $1.99 on the App Store here, "allows you to block certain types of online content... also allows you to block specific services... and define your own content filters". Find their blog here for lots of info and support.
To block an ad, AccuWeather for example:
1. Launch Weblock > Setup > tap on the given link to copy it to your clipboard
2. Open your system Settings > Wi-Fi > tap on your network name > under HTTP Proxy / Auto / URL paste in the link given in Weblock
3. Launch Weblock, 'Enable Weblock' slide to on.
4. Blacklist > + Add new rule > URL > paste in: */adrequest/* > Add > Slide the bar to on (to the right).
5. Close the app you want to test, then re-launch the app.
HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN WEB BASED CONTENT:
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ADBLOCKER:
AdBlocker by Yllier, $2.19 on Cydia, "blocks ads in Safari and other apps which are using browser-like views. It is designed to block image based ads in web content. It does not block ads like iAds or AdMob. For that use AdBlockerNetworks (above)".
To use it; System Settings > AdBlocker > tap on OTHER APPS to block app specific.
HOW TO BLOCK ADS IN CYDIA:
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NOTES:
1. These apps will block only some of the ads by basically adding the ad's URL to your hosts file.
2. If an ad uses a URL that is not listed on the hosts file these ad blockers will not work.
3. At the time of writing this NoCyAds and SBAdBlockToggle had not been updated to support iOS7, nor had they been updated in some time. I only saw a slight decrease in ads.
NOCYADS:
NoCyAds, to block ads in Cydia, by everythingapplespro, free, on Cydia; add to your sources cydia.xsellize.com BUT READ FIRST BEFORE INSTALLING:
Backup your original 'hosts' file first. NoCyAds will add entries to it and if you decide to uninstall NoCyAds it will remove your hosts file as well; it does not create a backup and restore it for you.
To do this either use a program to make a copy of your hosts file to another location or name using for example iFile or i-FunBox or the easiest method would be to SSH into your device:
Make a copy of hosts to hosts.bck:
cp /private/etc/hosts /private/etc/hosts.bck
If you do uninstall NoCyAds to restore your hosts file:
cp /private/etc/hosts.bck /private/etc/hosts
And that will also leave an original backup of your hosts file; hosts.bck.
After installing NoCyAds you need to close Cydia from the Multitasking bar (double press on Home button), close Cydia (swipe its window up) then you can re-launch Cydia.
SBADBLOCKTOGGLE:
SBAdBlockToggle by nathulal to block ads in Cydia, free, on Cydia. You need to add to your sources cydia.myrepospace.com/CyDevice/
To add a repository to your sources:
Launch Cydia > Sources > Edit > Add > cydia.myrepospace.com/CyDevice/ > Add Source).
If after adding that repo, or any repo, to your sources you have an error prompt that states "Wow, you exceeded the number of package names..." view here how to easily fix that.
To enable SBAdBlockToggle find under SBSettings AdBlock.
NOTES:
1. It will install 'sudo', as Cydia runs as root, and SBSettings which isn't iOS7 compatible yet; thus I couldn't test completely.
2. Again, as above for NoCyAds, I would make a copy or your original hosts file before installing this. It doesn't delete it if you uninstall it like NoCyAds above though.
3. Find a fork of it on GitHub.
HOSTSBLOCK:
Whilst this is not for iOS, I think it is something worthwhile for the adventurous to look into.
Hostsblock by gaenserich, free, open source; "A script and cronjob that downloads, sorts, and installs multiple ad- and malware-blocking hosts files." Homepage here, GitHub here, forum discussing it here and an AUR here.
HOW TO PREVENT CYDIA ADS OPENING APPLE'S APP STORE:
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NoAdStoreOpen by Bensge: Some apps in Cydia's repository have ads that force open the App Store. This tweak will prevent it; free, open source, install through Cydia. There are no options to configure. After installing it if you want to test it in Cydia; restart Cydia first then search for Bridge, then tap on it (this one always launches App Store at the time of writing this). If later it stops working; uninstall and reinstall should do the trick.
If you know of other great apps or tweaks to block ads and for privacy please post in mewbies forum, Facebook, G+ or tweet me.
If you find mistakes, have suggestions, and or questions please post at mewbies forum HERE - thank you.
Last update on 19 Feb '14