What Is uBlock Origin & Does It Work On Android Phones?

For those who spend a great deal of time surfing the web, it may be worth investing in an ad blocker. These downloadable programs interface with a user's browser of choice to minimize the presence of pesky pop-ups, invasive banner ads, and more — all in the service of making the user's internet experience as smooth and commercial-free as possible. While certain major sites like YouTube have kicked off a global crackdown on ad blockers, most of the major ones out there are generally still quite effective. Not only that, but many ad blockers can even work on devices like smartphones.

There are a bunch of notable ad blockers out there including AdGuard, Adblock Plus, and Ghostery, but arguably the most popular and well-received of the bunch is uBlock Origin. This particular browser-based extension offers some specialized features that set it apart from the rest of its kind. However, those who are interested in installing an ad blocker to their Android phones face some strong caveats when it comes to uBlock Origin.

At this point, uBlock Origin has been around for well over a decade — the browser extension originally released in 2014. In the time since then, it has built up a reputation for being one of the best and most feature-rich ad blockers available. On the Chrome Web Store, the extension is claimed to have reached roughly 36 million global users, and it maintains an impressive 4.7-star rating out of just over 29,000 user reviews. Meanwhile, its page on Mozilla's Firefox Browser Add-Ons store accounts for more than 7.7 million users and a 4.8-star rating out of more than 17,400 reviews.

Unlike many other ad blockers, uBlock Origin is marketed as an all-encompassing content blocker. It gives users the ability to selectively filter out all sorts of undesirable elements of browsing the web. For instance, users can simply block regular ads, but they can also stop websites and browsers from tracking their information, blacklist dangerous URLs that may host malware, and more. Beyond the list of available features, there's what many may consider the most important quality of the service: it's completely open-source and free to download.

As a primarily extension-based program, uBlock Origin includes support for a number of the biggest web browsers out there. The service's official site lists Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Chromium, and Safari as supported platforms — most of which have their own easy click-and-install extensions available. However, it's essential to note that this list of platforms is focused on compatibility in a desktop or laptop environment. Getting uBlock Origin to work on an Android phone is a fair bit more of a complex beast.

While uBlock Origin is designed to work with most web browsers on desktop, it's a bit more limited in the Android space. The Android equivalent of several major browsers, such as Google Chrome, don't have support for extensions and thus cannot natively use programs like uBlock Origin. That said, there are a few options to get the service working on an Android phone.

The best way to use uBlock Origin on an Android phone is to install it on the Firefox Android app. Out of most of the popular consumer web browser options, Firefox is the only one that includes support for the extension on its Android client. That means users who would prefer to use one of the popular name brand browsers essentially only have Firefox as an option to use this particular ad blocker. On the plus side, it's quite a simple installation process. One simply needs to select uBlock Origin as an add-on in the browser's settings, just as they would on a PC.

While Firefox may be the only major consumer browser to support uBlock Origin on Android, that's not to say there aren't other browser options. Kiwi Browser, a tailor-made Android browser based on Chromium and WebKit, supports uBlock Origin. Brave Browser on Android is also technically capable of including uBlock Origin as an extension. However, some users may find that setup redundant, as Brave Browser is one of the most secure browsers for maximum web privacy and includes numerous built-in features such as an ad blocker and a VPN.

For users that want to try out uBlock Origin on their Android phone through the Firefox browser app, the process is fairly straightforward. Following this list of steps will get the ad blocker up and running quickly and easily.

1. Ensure that the Firefox app is installed on your Android phone. This app can be installed through the Google Play Store or directly through Firefox's website.
2. Open the Firefox app.
3. Tap the vertical three-dot column icon to the right of the search bar.
4. Select "Add-ons" from the dropdown menu.
5. A list of recommended Add-ons will display. Locate uBlock Origin on the list and tap the + icon on the right.
6. A pop-up window displaying the necessary permissions for uBlock Origin will display. Tap Add.
7. A pop-up window notifying that uBlock Origin has been added to Firefox will display, along with an option to allow the extension to operate in private browsing mode. Leave the option checked or unchecked depending on your preference and tap "Okay, Got it."
8. Your Firefox Android app is now ready for use with uBlock Origin.

As it happens, uBlock Origin is actually on the list of officially supported extensions for Firefox on Android, which is why it displays in the browser's recommended add-ons without the need to manually search for it. As such, users can rest assured that using uBlock Origin is completely compatible with Firefox on Android and using it shouldn't result in any issues while browsing.