can someone explain to me why local pi-holes aren't a thing?

can't we just have an application that has a blacklist of domains that get blocked?

I hope @rutee07 comments on this rant

Windows, Linux (and mac should've it too) have a file for that, it's called "hosts".

@nitwhiz why is a pi-hole better than doing that?

@calmyourtities I cannot modify the hosts file on all devices: My "smart" TV, DVD player, mobile phone, coffe Maschine...

But generally, yes it is a thing: In browsers, we call it adblocker ;)

@calmyourtities @sbiewald exactly. Pi-hole is used as a kinda router, blocking requests to ad-sites.

Honestly, I don't even think that your classic pi zero has enough wifi throughput to make this enjoyable. I don't really get the whole hype either.

A raspberry pi 3 can't even serve samba efficiently, I can't imagine streaming full hd through a zero..

@nitwhiz shouldn't pi be just a DNS resolver and not just filter all the traffic?

@iiii oh is that so? While writing my comment i actually thought about it. If it works like that, that's actually quite nice and makes total sense tbh.:D

@nitwhiz Yep. DNS load only, so honestly the bandwidth requirements are pretty tiny.

I need to set mine up again.
And get an internet connection 🤔

They are a thing as pointed out already, but if you're doing something local anyway, might as well go for the more effective solution of using adblock or similar.

This is part of the reason why I don't run a pi-hole on my network - it's pretty good, but since it does nothing for things like Youtube ads I end up running local software anyway, and then I'm just duplicating functionality.

@AlmondSauce The lists could differ.

Also, software covers only your computer, not every device on your network. I loathe seeing ads on my phone and my kids’ tablets, but can’t sufficiently block them with software, especially in the case of the locked-down tablets meant for children. So: pi-hole!

Devices that try to prevent me from doing what i want can get bent.

@Root Yeah this is true - I tend to only use the phone extensively out of the house, so for me that's not really a factor. And the daughter is only 19, so there's definitely no way she's having any kind of phone or laptop for a good few years yet...!

@AlmondSauce 19 and no phone? Wow, that’s cruel.

@Root Months. I missed the months.

@sbiewald @Root yes i very much understand the appeal of a pi hole and have one, but it only works when i'm connected to wifi

what if i want to leave with my phone? why can't there be a local pi hole on my phone to work over data

@calmyourtities You could always expose your pihole and point your phone at it.

Just be sure to share pictures with @Rutee07 😉

@Root can't on iOS, your dns server is different per wifi and you can't change the dns server for mobile data

@calmyourtities Stupid Apple.

@calmyourtities VPN to home?
But yes - besides OS restrictions - nothing would hinder you running it locally...

@Root Blokada acts as a vpn locally to block ads. Probably works on devices you don't control.

@sbiewald that's what i've done!

@electrineer that's genius