How to test AdGuard
Use the browser and device configuration you want to evaluate. Confirm that your AdGuard extension, app protection, or DNS profile is enabled, then run the adblock test. Wait for the categories to complete and review ads, analytics, and trackers separately.
Because the page sees the final outcome, a blocked request may come from any active layer. Keep your setup stable during the first run. If you need to isolate one component, disable only that component for a short comparison and restore it afterward.
Identify the layer you are testing
Write down whether you are using the browser extension, desktop or mobile app, AdGuard DNS, or a combination. This prevents a good combined score from being mistaken for proof that every individual layer is configured correctly.
AdGuard extension versus app versus DNS
The browser extension works inside a supported browser. It can use request details and cosmetic rules to block network resources and hide page elements. Its coverage is limited to browsers where it is installed and allowed.
An AdGuard app can provide broader device-level filtering, subject to the operating system, browser, network, and permissions. App behavior can differ across platforms because each system exposes different filtering capabilities.
AdGuard DNS works at hostname resolution. It can protect multiple browsers and apps from listed domains, but it usually cannot inspect full page paths or hide empty ad containers. The DNS adblock test guide explains those limits in detail.
Why results can vary by device
A laptop may use an extension plus app filtering while a phone uses only private DNS. One browser may have secure DNS enabled while another follows system settings. App-level filtering can also require a local VPN profile or operating-system permission.
Test each device in the environment where you use it. Check that the intended browser or app is included in protection and that battery-saving, network switching, or another VPN has not disabled the filtering path.
Ads, trackers, and analytics blocking
Advertising, analytics, and social tracking use different hosts and request patterns. A setup can block obvious ad networks while allowing measurement endpoints needed by sites. That is why the test reports categories instead of treating every reachable request as the same kind of weakness.
Review category-level results and the individual hosts. A high overall score can still hide one weak category; a lower score can reflect intentionally conservative rules designed to reduce site breakage.
What to check if AdGuard is not blocking
- Confirm protection is enabled and the current site or app is not allowlisted.
- Update the application, extension, and filter lists.
- Review acceptable-ad, user-rule, and DNS allowlist settings.
- Verify the operating system granted the required content-filter or VPN permission.
- Check for another VPN or security tool that replaces the network path.
- Use the full adblock troubleshooting guide if ads continue.
If only visual placeholders remain, the network request may already be blocked. DNS cannot generally remove page layout. Enable appropriate cosmetic filtering in the browser extension if your goal is also to hide empty containers.
Private browsing and permissions
The extension may need separate authorization for private windows. App and DNS protection may continue outside the browser, but that depends on platform settings. Run a second test in private mode if it is part of your normal workflow.
Also check app-level filtering scopes. Some operating systems or browsers limit which traffic a local filtering app can inspect, especially encrypted or system-managed connections.
Run the test again after changes
After changing one setting, reload the page and repeat the same AdGuard test. Compare category totals and reachable hosts, not only the headline percentage. If the result improves consistently, the setting had a measurable effect.
No host-based test can guarantee that every first-party ad, sponsored placement, native promotion, or video ad will disappear. Use the result as a diagnostic and verify real sites without assuming a 100% score is universal coverage.
Record which AdGuard layer was active during the successful run. If a device later changes networks, installs another VPN, or resets permissions, rerun the same test. That baseline makes it easier to spot whether the extension, app, or DNS path stopped applying.