Best tracker blocker apps for Android and iPhone in 2026
A tracker blocker app stops the hidden connections that apps and websites use to report what you do. The main choices in 2026 are BLOKK, DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection, TrackerControl, AdGuard and Blokada on Android, and BLOKK, Lockdown Privacy and 1Blocker on iPhone. They differ most in whether they cover every app, where you can get them, and whether they work alongside a VPN.
The short comparison
| App | Android | iPhone | Blocks trackers in every app | Where the filtering happens | Works with a VPN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLOKK | Yes, on Google Play | Yes | Yes | On the phone | Yes, with BLOKK’s own VPN |
| DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection | Yes, inside the DuckDuckGo browser | No | Yes, for companies on its list | On the phone | Only with DuckDuckGo’s own VPN |
| TrackerControl | Yes. Full version from GitHub or F-Droid, reduced “Slim” version on Google Play | No | Yes | On the phone | Not with a separate VPN app. It can route through Mullvad, IVPN or your own WireGuard settings inside the app |
| AdGuard for Android | Yes, but not on Google Play | Not covered here | Paid version only | On the phone | Not with other VPN apps. Works with AdGuard VPN, a separate product |
| Blokada 6 | Yes, on Google Play | Yes | Yes | In Blokada’s cloud | Yes, with its paid Blokada Plus |
| Lockdown Privacy | No | Yes | Yes | On the phone | With Lockdown’s own paid VPN. It says it is “incompatible with many third-party VPNs” |
| 1Blocker | No | Yes | Yes, with its In-App Tracking Filter, a Premium feature | On the phone | It says “most VPNs stop working once our filter is enabled” |
What is a tracker blocker?
Most apps contain small pieces of code from other companies that report what you do: which screens you open, what you search for, where you are. These are trackers. A tracker blocker stops those reports leaving your phone by refusing the connection.
It is not the same as an ad blocker. An ad blocker removes adverts from the page. A tracker blocker stops the reporting, and many adverts stop loading as a side effect because they arrive through the same addresses.
Which tracker blockers work in every app, not only the browser?
A browser extension or a private browser only protects what happens inside that browser. Most tracking on a phone happens inside apps.
All seven apps in the table can block trackers across the phone, with two conditions. AdGuard says its free version “can’t filter apps”, so that needs the paid version. 1Blocker does it through its In-App Tracking Filter, which it says is available on iPhone only and which is part of 1Blocker Premium.
BLOKK
BLOKK’s free Privacy Shield blocks trackers and scam websites in every app and browser, using a list of more than 7 million domains on Android. It needs no account. Activity shows which apps tried to contact which trackers, and Map of Your Data shows the countries and companies involved. The paid MAX plan adds a VPN, and the Shield keeps blocking while the VPN is on. Rated 4.6 on Google Play.
Best for: people who want one app from the app store that covers every app, with no account.
DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection
DuckDuckGo describes this as “a feature in the DuckDuckGo Private Browser for Android” that blocks third party trackers in your other apps. It says the feature “works locally on your device” and blocks “most” requests to the tracking companies on its list. DuckDuckGo says its browser is free. It also says the feature “won’t work with other VPNs” and is “only compatible with the DuckDuckGo VPN”, which is part of its paid subscription.
Best for: Android users who already use the DuckDuckGo browser.
TrackerControl
TrackerControl is open source. Its site says it “uses Android’s VPN functionality to inspect network traffic locally”, needs no root, and “sends no personal data to an external server by default”. The full version is downloaded from GitHub or F-Droid. The version on Google Play, TrackerControl Slim, is described by its makers as “the feature-reduced Google Play version with Minimal blocking mode”.
Best for: people comfortable installing an app from outside Google Play who want fine control.
AdGuard for Android
AdGuard is mainly an ad blocker that also blocks trackers “across all browsers, games, and other apps”. Its site says it “can’t be published on Google Play” because “Google Play doesn’t allow apps that can block ads across the device”, so it is installed from AdGuard’s site or other app stores. Its free version does not filter apps, and tracking protection is one of its paid features. It says “other VPN apps cannot be used while AdGuard for Android is running”, though it works with AdGuard’s own VPN.
Best for: people whose main aim is removing adverts and who do not mind installing from outside Google Play.
Blokada
Blokada has two versions. Blokada 6 is on Google Play and the App Store and uses what the company calls “cloud based adblocking”. Blokada 5 is a free Android download from Blokada’s own site that “works for all apps and all browsers”, with “no trial, no account and no subscription”. Blokada 6 is a subscription with a 7 day free trial and uses an account. A VPN is available as a paid extra called Blokada Plus.
Best for: people who want an ad blocker first and are happy with filtering done in the cloud.
Lockdown Privacy (iPhone and Mac)
Lockdown’s Firewall blocks trackers across apps, and its site says traffic goes through “the Lockdown Firewall on your device (not to servers)”. It is for iPhone, iPad and Mac. On Android, Lockdown says it is “planning to bring Lockdown to Android and Windows”.
Best for: iPhone users. If you are looking for Lockdown on Android, BLOKK, DuckDuckGo or TrackerControl do the same job there.
1Blocker (iPhone)
1Blocker is best known as a Safari content blocker. Its In-App Tracking Filter stops “invisible trackers from connecting to third-party servers in the background”, and the company says “everything is done locally on your device only”. It says the feature is available on iPhone only.
Best for: iPhone users who also want a Safari content blocker.
Do tracker blockers need a VPN?
They use the phone’s VPN permission, because it is the only way one app can check the connections of the others. Most of them do the checking on the phone and do not send your traffic to a VPN server. You will still see a VPN symbol while they run.
On Android this has a consequence. Android’s developer documentation says “there’s only one active service per user or profile” and that starting a new one stops the existing one. So a tracker blocker and a separate VPN app cannot run together. The way round it is to use a blocker and a VPN from the same company: BLOKK, DuckDuckGo, AdGuard, Blokada and Lockdown each offer that.
How to choose
- Android, want it from Google Play, every app covered, no account: BLOKK.
- Already use the DuckDuckGo browser on Android: turn on App Tracking Protection.
- Want open source and full control: TrackerControl from F-Droid.
- Mainly want adverts gone: AdGuard or Blokada.
- iPhone: BLOKK, Lockdown Privacy or 1Blocker.
Whichever you choose, check who makes it and what it collects. A tracker blocker sees which addresses your phone contacts, so it should come from a company you can identify.
Further reading: Best Anti-Tracking Apps of 2025.
Download BLOKK on Google Play or download BLOKK on the App Store.
