Network-level ad blocking works differently. Instead of blocking ads after they load, it prevents your devices from connecting to known mapping advertising and tracking servers in the first place. This means fewer ads, less tracking, and a cleaner internet experience across every device you use.

Real-World Example: Everyday Mobile Apps

Many free mobile apps quietly communicate with dozens of advertising and analytics services in the background. Weather apps, fitness trackers, and casual games often send usage data to third-party trackers even when you’re not actively using them.

With network-level blocking, these background connections are stopped before any data leaves your device. The app still works, but the hidden tracking traffic never reaches the ad networks or analytics providers.

The Benefits

Beyond privacy, blocking ads at the network level has performance benefits. Web pages load faster because you aren't downloading megabytes of video ads and tracking scripts. Mobile data usage decreases, and the visual clutter of the modern web is reduced.

In this guide, we'll explain how network-level blocking works, the tools you can use, and how to set it up safely.

Why Ads and Trackers Are Everywhere

Modern digital business models rely heavily on data. It's not just about showing you a banner ad; it's about building a profile of your behavior across apps, websites, and devices. Smart TVs send viewership data, mobile apps track your location, and even smart home appliances can "phone home" with usage statistics.

Browser extensions like uBlock Origin are fantastic, but they only work within the browser. They can't stop your smart TV from tracking what you watch, or a free mobile game from harvesting your contacts. To stop this, you need a solution that sits between your devices and the internet.

What “Network-Level Blocking” Means

Network-level blocking operates at the DNS (Domain Name System) layer. When a device on your network tries to load an ad (e.g., from ads.example.com), it first asks a DNS server for the IP address.

A network-level blocker intercepts this request. If the domain is on a blocklist of known advertisers and trackers, the blocker returns a "null" response (0.0.0.0). The ad never loads because the device never connects to the ad server. This saves bandwidth and works on any device—phones, tablets, consoles, and IoT gadgets—without installing software on them.

Option 1 – DNS-Based Ad Blockers

The most popular way to achieve this is by running a local DNS server. Tools like Pi-hole and AdGuard Home are industry stanards for this.

• Pi-hole: Originally designed for the Raspberry Pi, it's a powerful DNS sinkhole that protects your devices from unwanted content.
• AdGuard Home: A robust alternative that often includes encrypted DNS support out of the box and parental control features.

The Trade-off: You need hardware (like a Raspberry Pi or an always-on PC) to run these at home. If that device goes offline, your entire home internet might lose DNS resolution.

Option 2 – Self-Hosted Network Tools

For more control, many users opt to self-host their entire network stack or use a dedicated home server. This gives you complete ownership of your data and infrastructure.

Self-hosting allows you to see exactly what traffic is leaving your network. It's transparent and powerful, but it comes with complexity. You are responsible for security updates, hardware maintenance, and uptime.

Option 3 – VPN-Based Filtering

What about when you leave your house? A home-based Pi-hole only protects you while you are on your home Wi-Fi.

To get network-level blocking everywhere (on 4G/5G or public Wi-Fi), you can combine DNS filtering with a VPN (Virtual Private Network). By connecting back to your own server, your mobile device routes all its traffic through your filtered DNS, blocking ads no matter where you are.

A Simpler Way to Do This with Ceres

We built Ceres to simplify this exact setup. Ceres automates the deployment of a private, self-hosted VPN server on DigitalOcean.

It installs WireGuard for the VPN connection and AdGuard Home for the DNS filtering. You get the benefits of a self-hosted blocker and a private VPN without needing to maintain hardware at home or manage complex Linux configuration files. You own the server, and Ceres Labs has no access to your traffic.

FAQs

Is this legal?

Yes. You have the right to control what traffic enters and leaves your devices. Blocking connections to ad servers is your choice as a network administrator.

Does it slow the internet?

Usually, it makes it faster. By preventing ad images, videos, and tracking scripts from loading, your devices download less data.

Can apps bypass it?

Some sophisticated apps try to use "hardcoded" DNS servers to bypass your filter. Network-level blockers can often capture these requests too, but it's a constant cat-and-mouse game. However, for the vast majority of tracking, DNS blocking is highly effective.