My parents' Android phones were ruined by invasive ads. Here's how I fixed them for good - Android Authority

What the report says

Android Authority reported that contributor Andy Walker moved to a network-level ad-blocking setup after seeing deceptive Android ads affect his parents’ phones, including pop-ups that imitated PDF update warnings. Walker said one earlier incident led his father to install multiple bogus PDF apps from the Play Store after tapping a fake update prompt inside a preinstalled office app. More recently, he said a similar ad appeared in YouTube, and he was able to reproduce a near-identical ad on his own Pixel device.

The article frames the issue as a broader Android safety problem, particularly for less technical users who may struggle to distinguish malicious or manipulative ads from legitimate system notices. Walker noted that his parents use their phones for communication, financial activity and storing personal memories, making a low-maintenance protection layer important. He also argued that scammy or explicit advertising on mainstream apps undermines trust in ad-supported services.

Android Authority said Walker chose NextDNS because it could be managed remotely, work across multiple device types, support separate profiles for each parent and use Android’s Private DNS feature to filter traffic on both Wi-Fi and mobile data. He described setting up profiles, adding allowlisted domains, selecting a blocklist such as HaGeZi Normal, and giving each parent a DNS-over-TLS endpoint to enter in Android’s Private DNS settings.

The report presents NextDNS as one possible option rather than the only solution, noting that services such as AdGuard offer similar DNS filtering. The broader takeaway is that DNS-based filtering can reduce exposure to scam ads across phones and other home devices, but it may require occasional tuning if legitimate domains are blocked.