Comparison

AdsBlockers vs NoirShield

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side โ€” with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

AdsBlockers

Features
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AdsBlockers is a device-wide ad and tracker blocker for iPhone and iPad. It works at the DNS level, so ads are blocked system-wide โ€” in apps, browsers, and anywhere else your device makes network requests. How it works When an app on your device tries to resolve a domain name (like a tracking or ad-serving server), the DNS proxy checks it against locally stored blocklists. If the domain is blocked, the request is silently dropped โ€” the ad never loads. If it's allowed, the query is forwarded to your chosen DNS resolver over encrypted DNS-over-HTTPS. The included Safari content blocker adds a second layer of protection specifically for web browsing inside Safari, catching cosmetic and path-level ad rules that DNS-only blocking can't reach. What's included โ€” Filter lists from EasyList, EasyPrivacy, StevenBlack hosts, OISD, AdGuard DNS filter, and 1Hosts Lite. Toggle each list on or off independently. โ€” Custom allowlist and blocklist for per-domain control. โ€” Pause protection temporarily (or until you turn it back on). โ€” Kill switch stops all internet if the DNS filter loses resolver access, preventing unfiltered traffic. โ€” Daily blocked-count charts and a 7-day activity log on the Activity screen. Your privacy Nothing leaves your device. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no server logs. The only third-party DNS resolver you interact with is the one you choose โ€” Cloudflare, Google, Quad9, or AdGuard DNS. Queries are encrypted by default via DNS-over-HTTPS. The app cannot see your browsing content, search history, usernames, or passwords โ€” only the domain names in DNS queries, and only those that were blocked appear in the local activity log (kept for 90 days). Requirements iOS 18 or later. A physical iPhone is required to use the DNS proxy; the Safari content blocker works on iPad without one.

About

NoirShield

Features
Read full description

NoirShield is a network tool that runs entirely on your device. It encrypts your DNS lookups and can match them against blocklists stored on the device. Your traffic is never routed through a server of ours: there is nothing to relay it through, and your IP address does not change. ENCRYPTED DNS Resolve names over DNS-over-HTTPS or DNS-over-TLS. Choose from built-in encrypted resolvers or enter your own custom endpoint. Measure them on the network you are on and switch to the fastest. ON-DEVICE FILTERING Optional lists for ads and trackers, malware, phishing and crypto mining โ€” 470,943 domains, matched on the device. Every list is off until you turn it on. You can import your own list and add your own allow and block rules, which take priority. DIAGNOSTICS Fourteen checks: reachability, IPv4 and IPv6, captive portals, latency, DNS resolution, DNS interception, DoH, DoT, HTTPS, TLS, QUIC, WebSocket and UDP. AUTOFIX Measures the network, applies a compatibility profile, verifies the result and remembers what worked for that network. NO ACCOUNT No sign-up, no sign-in, no subscription. Nothing about your lookups is uploaded. The activity log stays in memory and is gone when the app closes, unless you switch on "Keep activity after restart" in Settings. The app reaches our server for two things only: signed blocklist updates, and the connection tests while you are running diagnostics. NoirShield is not a country-switching VPN. It has no relay or proxy server, does not change your IP address and never decrypts HTTPS. On iPhone and iPad, iOS shows its own VPN badge whenever an on-device tunnel is running; NoirShield uses that tunnel only to hand DNS queries to the resolver on your device.

Screenshots

AdsBlockers4 screens
NoirShield4 screens

Verdict

The call

AdsBlockers and NoirShield are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters โ€” price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them โ€” neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
AdsBlockers versus NoirShield: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAdsBlockersNoirShield
PriceFreeFree
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.416.0 โ€” better
Further details โ€” not scored
Size96 MB29 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperNoah M7Stockapp OU

In-app purchases

None

AdsBlockers

No in-app purchases

None

NoirShield

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is AdsBlockers free?
AdsBlockers is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is NoirShield free?
NoirShield is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do AdsBlockers or NoirShield have ads?
Neither AdsBlockers nor NoirShield shows ads.

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