Below you’ll find some other useful things, although they aren’t exactly related to ad-blocking:
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Browser extensions against annoyances:
- Cookie popups: Consent-O-Matic
- Captchas: Buster
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I’d also suggest SponsorBlock — it has saved me so much time. There’s also an option for TVs and streaming devices.
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If you’re on iOS, consider turning off Background App Refresh. Only a few apps use Background App Refresh as Apple designed it, the majority are simply abusing it to get more data about you. If you don’t have always-on VPN, you risk exposing your real IP.
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Patched apps are also a thing, and it’s also possible to patch mobile apps yourself via ReVanced. While it’s a decent option, it’s also a security risk — I’m careful with it and don’t use it with sensitive accounts.
TIL
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To quote someone from HN:
There is nothing special about the Troubled Engineer’s setup. It’s mostly a matter of using open platforms. With Firefox on the desktop and Fennec on Android (Graphene), you get full uBlock Origin support and therefore never see any ads anywhere, even on Youtube. On Android, there is also NewPipe that offers “free Youtube Premium” (play in the background and download).
It’s really just uBlock Origin, a DNS blocker, and a few other small tweaks for YT. I use NewPipe on Android and Invidious instances. At this point I only see ads when setting up a VM and open the browser for the first time and forget I need to install uBO.
If you need SponsorBlock too, consider using PipePipe.
Grayjay.app also has sponsorblock and de-arrow built in
First time I’ve heard about GtayJay. Any reason you prefer it?
I like it because it syncs easily with GrayJay Desktop which works way more often than FreeTube does in my experience.
It also has built-in SponsorBlock and adblock without sacrificing functionality (a lot of NewPipe forks take a while to update after a change from YouTube).
It also has support for other things (Twitch, PeerTube, etc.) if you’re into that.
Just installed, looks pretty nice and works well in my limited testing. I like that you can follow one creator and see their YouTube, Nebula, and Patreon videos in one place
I’m still using revanced. Is that not considered good anymore?
Do you see ads you don’t want to see? If not, it’s good enough.
Hosts file, some general CSS rules in my usercontent.css and uBlock. Multi-step blocking and easy enough to casually setup.
Brave + ControlD (the latter also for parental control).





