Control the blocklists used by Netshield for ad blocking
Please add the ability for users to control the blocklists used by Netshield for ad blocking. Most other tools (such as PiHole, Next DNS etc) allow users to manually:
1. Specify which blocklists to activate
2. Add sites to a white list (this is often needed to get newsletter sign-up forms and login forms on subscription and e-commerce sites to work properly)
3. Add sites to a blacklist (custom blocklist).

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He who shall not be named commented
...and not just ad blocking - please also let users select security-related blocking lists like HaGeZi's Threat Intelligence Feeds. This would turn NetShield into a significant security feature. Proton would not even have to curate such lists - they are out there on GitHub. See Adguard DNS for an example of how this could be done.
Privacy and security go hand in hand, as demonstrated by Proton Sentinel.
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He who shall not be named commented
Additionally, it would be great to be block known phishing and malware sites. Adguard DNS lets users select security-related blocking lists like HaGeZi's Threat Intelligence Feeds. If Proton VPN / NetShield offered a similar feature, I would switch to Proton VPN. I already have a Proton Duo subscription and I would love to go full-Proton. But right now I use Adguard DNS because I have a strong emphasis on security.
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DOS SANTOS commented
It could replace ADAWAY. I would like to request the ability to import and integrate custom hostfiles (e.g., those from AdAway or similar sources) into NetShield.
Letting use integrate the host files like in there: https://github.com/AdAway/AdAway/wiki/HostsSources
It could allow android and apple users to totally block any advertising and tracking. -
Aldrich Vidas commented
● What It Is: NetShield is a tool that blocks ads, trackers, and malware. With the paid version of Proton VPN, it's more advanced, but it's good to request basic NetShield for free users.
● Why It's a Good Request: For free VPN users, we don't need to see ads or worry about tracking that slows down our browsing. With a simple NetShield, the browsing is smoother and safer than trackers.
"Hi Proton Team, it would be awesome if free users could have a basic version of NetShield for ad and tracker blocking. Even a lite version would really help improve privacy for free users!"
This is my most request a features because privacy and ad-blocking are its primary benefits, at least in a simple way.
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Adam Gordon commented
More media sites won't let you read their content with an ad blocker turned on, so this is becoming a more important feature
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Simon Jacobs commented
Please improve netshield blocklist. Its terrible compared to other providers. Sometimes it even blocks wanted contents while not blocking actual ads. Improve the blocklist and let us add custom or preset blocklists.
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Maurits commented
It would be great if there would be a separate service or build in feature where we could choose our lists and settings similar to NextDNS.
Or implement the option where we can set the DNS ourself. -
Maurits commented
AdGuard had a really nice product with their Ad Blocker. It would be great if Proton would offer a similar service.
I am aware of the Netshield feature, however this is much more limited than AdGuard Ad Blocker.
Netshield doesn’t ‘Hides empty spaces after ads
Keeps pages looking good after removing ads’.
AdGuard works better in apps.
I also like the option to manage the blocklists myself. -
Joe Pereto commented
This is very important. I have to disable full NetShield (and use partial) to get a specific app to remember me without going through 2FA. A whitelist would be awesome.
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John commented
Yes, very useful, we need a pi-hole like tool when using 4g with vpn
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Post-Scriptum commented
As Blockada offer the ability to choose between many safe improve adblock or social tracking etc.
Add an option for enable and select pre-choose lists (and maybe, an advance option for add-it manually from filter list for example https://filterlists.com/)
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jherazob commented
I currently use Blokada on my phone to block ads and tracking, and since it's a pseudo-VPN it cannot be used along with ProtonVPN. Therefore for me to use ProtonVPN would mean stopping Blokada. So, either NetShield becomes strong enough to work at the same level as Blokada, or i will not use it. Giving the VPN client the ability to use these block lists would be an easy way to ensure this happens.
Until then i am not paying for Unlimited, all i use for now is Mail and in a limited way Drive, without the VPN i see no point in upgrading.
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Ivo commented
Blocking of ads and trackers is an important part of maintaining user privacy and the ability to browse the internet without being constantly surveilled or provided with skewed content based on the decisions of algorithms.
NetShield is cool, but it would be great to have a more comprehensive blocking capability in Proton VPN similar to the likes of AdGuard. Currently, it is clunky to use AdGuardd or DuckDuckGo tracking protection together with VPN because most platforms allow only one VPN connection at a time and a "fake" VPN is necessary for the blocking services to work.
Important features for this are:
-Ability to either activate some blocklists from a wider Proton-curated collection or to subscribe to custom blocklists and have the app regularly check for their updates.
- Ability to add custom block/allow rules.
- Ability to filter all DNS requests.
- Potentially ability to customize rules per app on platforms that allow this (Android only afaik).
- Ability to inspect HTTPS traffic by inserting itself into it with its own certificate. This is important for blocking DNS requests made by apps via HTTPS.
- Possibly a companion extension in desktop browsers to complement blocking with esthetical adjustments (removal of empty spaces left after ads) and adding blocking rules straight from the page.
- Log of requests. This is important for user troubleshooting in case important DNS requests get blocked.