AdGuard v3.3 for Android: the last release of the decade

Looks like it's time for the last AdGuard update of this... decade? Whoa, that sounds crazy! And that honor goes to AdGuard for Android — very fitting, if you ask me. Our Android app is one of the most popular ones among AdGuard users. To be fair, we feel a bit hyped up, and even a little solemn on the day of its release. Not just because of this 'last update of the decade' thing, but perhaps even more so because the update itself is rock solid, with multiple major new features and a backbone of numerous bugfixes and improvements. Let's see what's going on here.

Filtering engine

Disclaimer: the description of this feature may sound boring and doesn’t even contain any screenshots (duh), but we put it in the beginning for a reason. We believe this is one of the most impactful changes in v3.3 due to the positive effect it has on the ad blocking quality.

Version 3.3 brings scriptlets and $redirect modifiers support. Scriptlets is a powerful ad-blocking tool that helps to block ads on websites that use different circumvention techniques. $redirect modifier is another tool that allows substituting special 'resources' instead of a blocked element. Special resources are a strictly limited list of items that can be used as a substitution. For instance, it can replace a banner with a transparent 1x1 image.

The onboarding process

We like nothing better than some redesign! This time, we revamped the onboarding sequence (basically, what you see when you launch the app for the first time).

The onboarding screen in the new version

Key changes:

• An option to choose a ‘quick’ or a ‘long’ configuration: you’ll be asked to either make only key decisions or set most of the settings manually
• New option to allow sending some technical and interaction information that will help us further improve AdGuard
• Better graphics!

New activation flow

Not many Android users had a chance to see our AdGuard for iOS app, so they likely don’t know about the system that’s being used there for Premium features activation. But it recommended itself as one that’s convenient for users, so we adopted it for AdGuard for Android too.

We've added two new methods to activate license right in the app – you don't have to remember a license key number and open an avalanche of tabs in the browser.

Via personal account

At first we tried аn option to activate license by linking it to a personal account in the beta version. Those who tested it liked it a lot, so here is the result – we added it to version 3.3.

You don't have to remember a license key number anymore, just log in

Now it's enough to type in the login and password from your personal account. The app will check for a valid license key and, if the result is positive, will activate your license.

Via social networks

An even easier way to activate license is to log in to a social account. Just enter credentials to one of your social media accounts (Google, FB, Twitter etc.) that is registered to the same email as your AdGuard personal account. Likewise, if you have a valid license key, it will be used for activation automatically.

For the complete list of changes, see Github. Inside, you'll find multiple major features and over 50 lesser ones — all in all it combines to make a nice Christmas gift for y’all! Have fun with the new version. As always, we'll be waiting for your feedback in the comments :)

And for those who has read the article till the end, we add a bonus: a 40% discount on Family licenses and a tablet giveaway. Wishing you a happy holiday season, yay!