Every Galaxy owner knows the type: a free game or utility that fires a full-screen ad every few minutes. Samsung’s One UI 9 ships with a little-known answer hiding in the Wi-Fi settings — AI Network Guard — and it does not work the way you would expect an ad blocker to.
Android Police put Network Guard head-to-head with the classic Private DNS ad-blocking trick (AdGuard’s DNS). Here is what each one actually does, what testing found, and which one fits which app.
Key Takeaways
- Network Guard doesn’t filter ads — it cuts selected apps off from the internet entirely, on both Wi-Fi and mobile data, so their ads can never load.
- It lives in One UI 9’s Wi-Fi settings and is aimed at cutting distractions as much as ads: you can restrict whole categories like browsers and games at once.
- Testing found it stopped every ad in offline-capable apps — including full-screen interruptions — while leaving other apps untouched.
- The catch: an app that needs the internet to work is useless while restricted. Network Guard is a blunt instrument, not a filter.
- Private DNS (AdGuard) blocks ads system-wide, including in browsers, without cutting any app’s connection — but ads inside some apps still get through.
What Network Guard Actually Does
Most ad blockers try to recognise and filter ad traffic. Network Guard skips that entirely: pick an app, and it loses internet access — completely. No connection means no ad servers, no trackers phoning home, and no full-screen video ads materialising out of nowhere.
Samsung frames it as a focus and distraction tool, which is why it lives in Wi-Fi settings rather than a security menu, and why you can restrict entire categories — browsers and games, for example — in one go. Blocking ads is, officially, a very welcome side effect.
What Testing Found
Android Police tested Network Guard against three free, ad-supported apps and one ad-heavy website, comparing it with AdGuard’s Private DNS:
- In offline-capable apps (like a Sudoku game), Network Guard was ruthless: every ad gone, including the full-screen interruptions, because the app simply could not reach the internet. Everything else on the phone worked normally.
- Private DNS kept apps online — so apps that need a connection kept working — and blocked ads across the system, including web browsing. But its filtering is not total inside every app.
- Verdict from the test: Network Guard blocks the ads people mind most (the offline-app ambush ads), while Private DNS is the better general-purpose filter.
How to Try Each One
Network Guard (One UI 9): Open Settings → Connections → Wi-Fi, look for the Network Guard option, and choose the apps or categories to restrict. Restricted apps go offline until you unrestrict them.
Private DNS ad blocking (any modern Android): Settings → Connections → More connection settings → Private DNS → choose “Private DNS provider hostname,” enter dns.adguard-dns.com and save. Ads are then filtered in apps and on the web, free, with no app install.
Rule of thumb: use Network Guard for games and offline utilities whose ads annoy you; use Private DNS as your everyday, everything-filtered baseline. They can coexist — DNS filters the phone, Network Guard benches the worst offenders.
The Bottom Line
Network Guard is not really an ad blocker, and that is exactly why it works so well where it works: nothing loads ads like no internet at all. For the free game that ambushes you with a 30-second video every level, it is a genuinely satisfying off-switch. Just remember the trade — the restricted app cannot do anything online either, so save it for apps that never needed the internet in the first place.
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FAQs
What is One UI 9’s Network Guard?
It is a Samsung feature in One UI 9’s Wi-Fi settings that lets you cut selected apps — or whole categories like games and browsers — off from the internet entirely, across both Wi-Fi and mobile data. With no connection, the apps cannot load ads.
Does Network Guard work like an ad blocker?
Not exactly. Ad blockers filter ad traffic while keeping apps online. Network Guard removes an app’s internet access completely, so nothing in it can load — ads included. That makes it very effective for offline-capable apps, but a restricted app cannot use any online feature.
How is Private DNS ad blocking different?
Setting a Private DNS provider hostname such as dns.adguard-dns.com filters ads system-wide — in apps and in web browsing — without cutting any app’s connection. It is the better everyday option, though some in-app ads still slip through.
Which Galaxy phones have Network Guard?
It is part of One UI 9, so it arrives with that update on eligible Galaxy phones and tablets. Rollout timing varies by model and region, as with all One UI releases.
