@somerandomperson For Android, the best I found is RethinkDNS with firewall

1. Select your preferred DNS blocklists
2. Block ALL apps using data including system apps
3. Set Firewall to block all Apps when not in use.
4. Select apps that CAN access data
5. Select apps that bypass firewall rules i.e. emails etc. This allows background data to keep you up to speed.

There is far more to each of the points Read read read then go. Anything can be rolled back in settings if any anything breaks

You say you want an app but I think it would be wise to do it at the DNS level, then figure out if you need a special app to use the DNS server you configure.

I use Blocky on a VPS with countless denylists: I’ve even caught it blocking a phishing domain I received in an email just under an hour after receiving it.

If you’re on android, I use TrackerControl from F-Droid. Be warned, however, that it absolutely will break most apps, because everything tries to track you through google, so blocking google with strict settings will destroy many of the apps you rely on. It is, however, the single best tracker blocking app I’ve ever seen. I feel like the fact that it breaks things, then you can check and see how everything it blocked caused the app to break, is a huge point in its favor.

If you’re talking about DNS, you can use mullvad:

• “https://adblock.dns.mullvad.net/dns-query” for Ads + Trackers,
• “https://base.dns.mullvad.net/dns-query” for Ads + Trackers + Malware
  • You can see Mullvad’s other DNS options here: https://mullvad.net/en/help/dns-over-https-and-dns-over-tls

If you’re talking about browser extension, use:

• uBlock Origin
• or uBlock Origin Lite if you use Google Chrome.

If you mean the browser extension, my recommended setup would probably be:

• uBlock Origin as your foundation
• NoScript to fill some fine-tuning JS-blocking gaps that uBO lacks (and vice-versa. Neither is a one-stop-solution in this regard… I miss uMatrix)
• CookieAutoDelete to do some useful while-browsing automatic cookie clearing

That combo covers the extension side of things. Something like DecentralEyes may also be useful, but I’ve had mixed results when I tried it years back. EFF’s Privacy Badger also does some interesting stuff and gives you the ability to fully block cookies/etc. but it’s a weird one to deal with so I’m not sure how much I’d actually recommend it.

Ideally all used on a hardened browser like LibreWolf, with a custom DNS like one of Mullvad’s various options, and a VPN. Beyond that, using TOR?.. but that’s not really designed for ad/tracker blocking and is a whole different privacy concept.

Could you share some of your requirements? Do you want to block on a whole network, individual devices…? What kind of devices, running what operating systems? Why don’t you like AdGuard?

In what context are you planning to use this alternative? A smart TV? A router? Your desktop browser? Mobile browser? Etc.

oisd blocklist

I use it with Vivaldi but it should be fine with AdGuard, not used it myself though.