# Do you use iodé along with another adblocker/firewall and why? **URL:** \ **Category:** System and Apps\ **Tags:** FeatureRequest\ **Created:** [9 September 2023 09:04 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887 "2023-09-09T09:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Antoine](https://community.iode.tech/user_avatar/community.iode.tech/antoine/32/7_2.png) [@Antoine](https://community.iode.tech/u/Antoine)\ **Post date:** [20 December 2023 15:33 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/22 "2023-12-20T15:33:19Z")
Hey all, Just checking now that we implemented REGEX/ wildcards, if you still use an other adblocker along with iodé? What do you miss in iodé? Do you have any suggestions? Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![mmoole](https://community.iode.tech/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/m/c67d28/32.png) [@mmoole](https://community.iode.tech/u/mmoole)\ **Post date:** [27 August 2024 22:10 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/23 "2024-08-27T22:10:31Z")
there are two things that made me using still dns66: - custom blocklist / allowlist, from a file for example - save/export/import settings I am also looking at rethinkdns, but there I also didnt find the possibility to have an allowlist from a local file, but at least import/export. ---
**Author:** ![Pili](https://community.iode.tech/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/p/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Pili](https://community.iode.tech/u/Pili)\ **Post date:** [6 February 2025 22:29 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/24 "2025-02-06T22:29:32Z")
Hello, it’s been a whilesince the question was asked but I really think it would add a lot of value for privacy conscious people like iodé users if you coul add a block list import feature, here are a few elements on this : - I think it is a common feature from many dns ad blockers (basically all that I know can do it) - and the fact that it is very standard means that every one stores their blocking configuration that way, it gives the feeling that the iodé app is not complying to the standard - I read somewhere that iodé was about giving back freedom to the user (such as uninstalling system apps which is awesome), this is exactly a “give-freedom” feature, whereas the current iodé app feels much more like a blacl box to me, one can block unethical social media, but I don’t know who that means, I don’t know who decided, etc. I want to be able to choose, whereas currently we mainly can activate or deactivate, and perform minor adaptations with individual regex/domains. - I want to be able block much much more domains than what is in current block list (and I even don’t easily know what is the “reinforced blocking”. I want to block all gafams domains, and it is way too compliated to do it manually with regex because : the standard is to do it with block lists, so it is hard to find good regex blockong for so many domains, and even that way it still requires the user to copy paste ~10 regex shown in a .txt file (for google, for amazon it is more around 20-30). This again is frustrating, I would like to import the regex file instead of copy pasting its entries. - I’ve read on the pi-hole forum that going through a list of exact domains is sooo much more efficient than going through regex, because each regex needs to be evaluated, whereas the sorted domains can be checked as a tree (don’t know the math) which is much better. I think this is really a key feature to provide a proper dns blocking to the user. Happy to discuss/test/elaborate in the future on this ! ---
**Author:** ![thunderbolt](https://community.iode.tech/user_avatar/community.iode.tech/thunderbolt/32/2136_2.png) [@thunderbolt](https://community.iode.tech/u/thunderbolt)\ **Post date:** [24 February 2025 16:49 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/25 "2025-02-24T16:49:28Z")
System level, no. It’s because the iodé app has been able to block many trackers across the apps I use without breaking functionality. As for browser level, yes. I use Brave (which has its inbuilt adblocker) because I’ve been a longtime user and it blocks Youtube ads. ---
**Author:** ![ForFair](https://community.iode.tech/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/f/a3d4f5/32.png) [@ForFair](https://community.iode.tech/u/ForFair)\ **Post date:** [5 May 2025 15:53 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/26 "2025-05-05T15:53:31Z")
> [@Pili](#): > > the current iodé app feels much more like a blacl box to me, one can block unethical social media, but I don’t know who that means Same for me. I want to know which recipients these non-free or ethically unsatisfactory networks are. Could somebody from the iodé team provide us with that information? ---
**Author:** ![evidence-it](https://community.iode.tech/user_avatar/community.iode.tech/evidence-it/32/1369_2.png) [@evidence-it](https://community.iode.tech/u/evidence-it)\ **Post date:** [5 May 2025 20:56 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/27 "2025-05-05T20:56:06Z")
I also had the dream 😉 ---
**Author:** ![AlphaElwedritsch](https://community.iode.tech/user_avatar/community.iode.tech/alphaelwedritsch/32/496_2.png) [@AlphaElwedritsch](https://community.iode.tech/u/AlphaElwedritsch)\ **Post date:** [6 May 2025 06:18 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/28 "2025-05-06T06:18:54Z")
All of these things, making the iode app more user-friendly, more modular, being able to use your own lists, etc., are on the to-do list. You just have to be patient. That will come. The announcements weren’t that long ago. Here it has an article about the app. > **[How does the iodé blocker work? - iodé](https://blog.iode.tech/how-does-the-iode-blocker-work/)** > > The iodé blocker is a built-in adblocker that blocks trackers and malicious recipients in order to preserve your privacy and secure your data. ---
**Author:** ![blmurphy](https://community.iode.tech/user_avatar/community.iode.tech/blmurphy/32/1702_2.png) [@blmurphy](https://community.iode.tech/u/blmurphy)\ **Post date:** [10 May 2025 00:24 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/29 "2025-05-10T00:24:01Z")
I use ProtonVPN in addition. It catches some ads (and other) that pass iode. Of course the VPN interferes with some apps (SONOS especially) and other websites checking your location (YouTube TV via web browser especially). ---
**Author:** ![Taurus-II](https://community.iode.tech/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Taurus-II](https://community.iode.tech/u/Taurus-II)\ **Post date:** [26 May 2025 17:25 UTC](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887/30 "2025-05-26T17:25:29Z")
I am using Blokada5 along with iodé Advanced Privacy. With Blokada5 I have a display/dropdown in the phone’s notifications area, where real-time outgoing connections, both allowed and blocked, are listed, and it indicates how many minutes or days ago the outgoing link occurred, much like Pi-hole does. But Advanced Privacy shows me clearly _which_ connections were made by _which_ apps. This is how I was able to identify the %#\*^(@& app that keeps trying to contact `dns.google`, which I blocked long ago (and `amazonaws`, by the way). I suspected it was Proton Mail, due to the timing shown in Blokada5, but was able to confirm it by visiting iodé _Advanced Privacy_ \> _Report_ and then clicking on the Proton Mail report. (And even if I disable “Alternative routing” in the Proton Mail app, it continues to attempt the connection to Google, before finally honoring my Quad9 setting.) One disadvantage with Blokada5 is that it can’t be used in conjunction with my VPN. [Previous page](https://community.iode.tech/t/do-you-use-iode-along-with-another-adblocker-firewall-and-why/1887.md?page=1)