Are you sick of giant ads taking up the valuable space on your phone’s tiny screen? Well, there are several different ways to get rid of them and in this lesson I’m going to show you just how to do it!

Editor’s Note: While we generally support advertisements—after all, it’s how many app developers make a living—they can sometimes make web browsing and using apps almost unbareable. These instructions are for those type of apps and websites. Please be kind and make sure to support the apps & websites that you do enjoy by not blocking their ads or by buying the premium versions of their app. It is how many of them make a living!

With that being said, join us below for the instructions on how to install the ad blockers on your Android devices. We will describe two separate methods: #1) for Rooted phones and #2) for Non-Rooted phones.

For Rooted devices:  AdAway

One of the best ad blocking solutions for Android devices is “AdAway”, which will block ads from most known sources. This includes ads in both your web browser and in the apps you use. AdAway uses a regularly updated blacklist to block the ads before they ever reach your phone. Keep in mind… you must have a rooted device for this app! What is root? Check out our lesson on that topic here: What is Rooting? The Advantages and Disadvantages

Instructions:

1. Go to the Android Market and search for the app “AdAway”. [Market Link for AdAway]

2. After installing the app, start it up and hit the “Download files and apply ad blocking” button. This will  download a few host files and merge them into your phone’s, blocking those apps from ever reaching your device.

3. Reboot your Droid.

4. That’s it! You’ll now be running in an ad-free world!

Note: You can also disable ad blocking at any time, just go back to the AdAway app and click on “Disable ad blocking” button. Reboot to make the changes take effect.

Looking for an alternative to AdAway? Another popular Ad-blocker for Android is “AdFree Android”. [Market Link for AdFree]

For Non-Rooted devices: Browser-Based Ad Blockers

Unfortunately, if you aren’t rooted, you don’t have nearly as many choices when it comes to blocking ads on your Android device. The only way that I know of right now is to block ads through your web browser, and only a few browsers currently support this. My personal favorite is Firefox and below are the instructions on how to install it.

Instructions:

1. Launch the Android Market and search for “Firefox”. [Market Link]

2. Install and launch the FireFox app.

3. Click the Menu button, go to Settings, and click on Add-ons.

4. Add the Adblock Plus extension. , which you can grab from the add-ons page in Firefox’s settings.

5. That’s it! This method will remove ads from websites that you visit… but you’ll still get ads on apps. Don’t like that? Then root your phone already!!

Have any of your own ad-blocking solutions we didn’t mention? Please  be sure to share them with us in the comments section below!

UPDATE for Non-Rooted Android Devices: AdBlock Plus was recently released and is certainly worth a try if you are looking to avoid ads on your Droid. Adblock Plus is a free app that blocks: mobile ads, video advertising, banners, push notifications, display advertising, HTML5 advertising, and much more. [Link for AdBlock Plus on the Google Play Market]

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John A

I'm a huge Android fan and also the founder of the DroidLessons website. I started obsessing about the Android platform as soon as I got my HTC EVO phone in mid-2010. Ever since then, I have been obsessed with learning all that I can about the Android OS and sharing that knowledge with my friends and family.

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