Photo: Samsung
There are plenty of something less offensive. If you’re looking for an ad blocker that can do a little more (and you have a Samsung phone) here’s a new app worth checking out.
Created by developer NeedleGames from the XDA forums, Simple Ad-blocker for Samsung (SABS for short) promises to remove all those pesky ads and then some. The app works by tapping into Samsung’s ultra-secure KNOX software. That gives it the ability to disable packages — A.K.A. the terrible bloatware slathered on by your carrier. SABS also includes a system-level permission manager, giving you an extra level of control over what apps can see and do on your phone.
Simple Ad-blocker for Samsung was created specifically for the Galaxy S8, S8+, and Note 8, but NeedleGames says it should work on any Samsung phone running Android 5.0 or up. That includes the brand new Galaxy S9, along with a bunch of older models. You don’t need to root your phone to run this ad-blocker either, though the setup process does get a little complicated and requires some technical know-how.
The first thing you’ll need to do is get a licence key from Samsung (follow along with the instructions here). Then disable any other ad blockers you might be running on your phone and download the SABS source code from GitHub. You can do this on your computer if you prefer, or directly on your phone for a slightly quicker process.
Just make sure to follow the directions carefully and you should make it out the other side with a powerful new ad-blocker up and running on your Samsung phone.
Comments
2 responses to “This Free Ad Blocker For Samsung Phones Also Kills Bloatware And Manages App Permissions”
It may take some searching to find this because it appears Samsung have issued a DMCA takedown notice to XDA and they’ve removed links. Looks like it’s gone from GitHub too, I’d assume for the same reason.
Whether the app was illegal or breaching copyright is debatable, but this is a good verification of people’s fears back when DMCA was implemented that it could be used to block things that a company didn’t like (regardless of legality).
Actually, it may still be on GitHub, but a different location; https://github.com/almightyNTER/SABS
I’m not sure if it’s the same version though.
I’m very happy with the free Adblock browser.