PiHole is not awful. It greatly enhances the blocking provided by browser plugins. Most valuably, it blocks an enormous amount of ads in non-browser apps. If I'm using e.g. the BBC app on my phone, PiHole blocks most of the ads (or at least it used to; I haven't checked recently). It also blocks ads in smart TVs and other places where you can't install uBlock.

it doesn't enhance anything a browser plugin does -it's a redundancy.

yes, it can block SOME ads in apps. it's also really good at breaking access to said apps too, then you must spend a great deal troublehsooting apps one at a time.

IMHO - ublock on the browser, pay for apps that have adfree versions, don't use apps that don't, and pirate the rest.

Pihole is contributes to a defense in depth strategy. Lots of android games are unplayable when I'm connected to the internet unless I'm on a network protected by pihole. Yes, I can run a firewall on my phone, but maintaining firewalls on every device that my family uses?

Solution: don’t play games or use any app where the business model isn’t “I give you money and you give me goods and services”.

I have one ad supported app on my phone - the Overcast podcast player. That’s only because the author created his own non scummy ad network and I find ads on the podcast player that advertise other podcasts useful.

If I didn’t, I would pay him too to get rid of ads.

That only works when they're willing to take your money and willing to then not show you ads or track you. Lots of places won't take your money and only do ads, and an upsetting number are happy to take your money and then track you and/or show you ads anyways. (My "favorite" so far is Hulu, who has the audacity to call their paid plan "no ads" and then include ads.)

Then don’t use those services or buy those products?

When I did buy Windows PCs, I either bought from the business division of Dell or the Microsoft store specifically because they weren’t bundled with adware.

That's great. I'm glad you have balanced out your morality and online browsing. We will all sleep easier tonight.

It’s not about morality, its about my preferring not to be bombarded with ads.

Defense in depth.

On my Android I have Netguard[0] configured with a hosts file, Firefox with uBlock Origin and NextDNS with comprehensive blocklists.

uBlock Origin protects only one app — the browser.

[0]: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases/

I thought part of the point is that 40% or whatever never gets sent to your device in the first place - speeding up requests, reducing usage. Those seem like good things.

And, it's 40% that don't show up even on devices and browsers where you can't install uBlock.

pi hole is great and is just another layer.

pi hole is as great as those blocklist filters people used to add into Torrent clients or using tools like PeerBlock.

It's just so faulty and pointless.