Well, I never thought I would write about an ad filtering app, but things went deep between us, so here I am..
Long story short, I was deeply annoyed by the lack of options in Mi Video, which is part of the Android stock gallery app, simply to end a video without being shown nonsense suggestions and ads.
I even got in touch with them and left a low rating on the Play Store to get the developers attention, but nothing changed that uncomfortable feeling of not wanting a personal video to end, because ending it inevitably meant facing a wall of nonsense all over again.
It felt almost impossible at times when all my best efforts were met with the most engrained stubborn behavior on the gallery app, getting the suggestions to show time and time again when all I wanted was a simple, clean video watching experience, the way it should naturally be.
And since the manufacturer didn’t offer an option to pay to remove those suggestions and ads, I decided to find a way forward myself.
Mi Video and GetApps put up quite a challenge, their team placed the most unthinkable amount of work in making the app as resilient in showing ads as they possibly could.
It took several days of testing, however, I eventually unlocked the secret potion solution, and the main ingredient of it is definitely AdGuard, the app I am writing about today.
For standard web pages, filtering ads is a breeze.
AdGuard makes that possible in such a smooth and straightforward way that I won’t focus on that (though that alone makes the app worth its value in gold, your whole existence becomes lighter browsing an ad-less internet, believe me).
However, my main goal was the android stock gallery app and it’s deeply annoying end video suggestions.
I sometimes wish the creators of such intrusive user experiences could test their own design while resting on a beach, finishing a favorite video, only to be met with a completely disconnected video recommendation right at the end, like a splash of cold water.
Back to the solution..
After activating the full version trial on AdGuard (the standard free version works fine for basic web ads, however I really appreciate the work they placed into it, so getting the full version seems like a beautiful way to give back and support the team).
And after uninstalling all updates for Mi Video, placing both Mi Video and GetApps on the filtering list inside AdGuard, and turning off auto-updates, I finally restored months of pure, uncluttered video viewing inside the very stock app I enjoy using.
I am sharing this today because after the trial expired, everything stayed wonderfully clear and i kept getting that flawless gallery experience, until one day I unintentionally clicked “Update All” in the app store.
Needless to say that Mi video came back in full force with its awful video ending experience, which immediately reminded me to purchase a full AdGuard license, because truly.. after installing it, it has remained locked in my background apps ever since.
and it has been a while already.
Thank you AdGuard guys, if you are reading this, for the gift that you are, to all of us, by being there and still caring.
In a world that can sometimes feel so disconnected by filters and ads that get between people and their destination, there is definitely a safe harbor to be found in the tool you so beautifully developed, and for that my friends, my deepest appreciation.