You are tapping through your friends’ Stories, getting caught up on the weekend’s events, when suddenly—BAM. A loud, jarring video ad for a mobile game takes over your screen. You frantically tap the right side of the screen, but the “Skip” button hasn’t appeared yet.

Snapchat ads are among the most aggressive because they are woven directly into the “Story” flow. To be blunt: There is no simple, safe way to block Snapchat ads in 2025. While Reddit users have experimented with DNS blocking (Pi-hole), this usually results in the app failing to load content entirely. Furthermore, unlike YouTube or Disney+, the paid subscription “Snapchat+” does not remove ads.

I will analyze the popular “fixes” discussed on Reddit and explain why most of them are dead ends or dangerous for your account.

The Reddit Experiment: Can Pi-hole Block the Ads?

The Reddit thread you referenced is a classic example of “Technically Possible, Practically Useless.”

The Method

Users on r/pihole attempted to identify the specific server domains that Snapchat uses to deliver ads (e.g., aws.snapchat.com or specific sc-cdn.net subdomains). The idea is to tell your home network to block traffic from these specific addresses so the ads never load.

The Result: A Broken App

As many commenters in that thread quickly discovered, Snapchat uses the same servers to deliver ads as it does to deliver your friends’ Stories.

• The Problem: If you block the domain that serves the “Burger King” ad, you also block the domain that serves your best friend’s video from the concert last night.

• The Experience: You might successfully stop the ads, but you will also see grey screens, “Connection Error” messages, or Stories that simply refuse to load.

• Verdict: This is a game of Whac-A-Mole you cannot win. Snapchat’s engineers are smarter than a static blocklist.

The “Modded App” Risk (Don’t Do It)

If DNS blocking fails, many users turn to “Modded” or “Tweaked” versions of Snapchat (often found on Android APK sites or iOS sideloading stores like AltStore). These apps promise features like “No Ads,” “Save Snaps Secretly,” and “Ghost Mode.”

The Ban Hammer

Snapchat is notoriously aggressive against third-party apps. They have device-level detection. If you use a modded app to block ads, there is a very high probability that Snapchat will permanently lock your account. I have seen countless users on Reddit crying because they lost 5 years of memories and streaks because they tried to block ads. It is not worth the risk.

Does “Snapchat+” Remove Ads?

This is the biggest misconception. You pay $3.99/month for Snapchat+, so the ads should go away, right? Wrong. Snapchat+ is a “feature” subscription, not an “ad-free” subscription. It gives you:

• Ghost trails (seeing where friends went).

• Custom app icons.

• “Best Friend” pinning.

• It does NOT remove ads from Stories or the Discover page. Do not buy Snapchat+ expecting a YouTube Premium experience. You will be disappointed.

Why Are Snapchat Ads So Hard to Block?

Snapchat pioneered the “Vertical Video” format, and they mastered Server-Side Injection. Just like Twitch and Hulu, they stitch the ad into the video feed before it reaches your phone. To your phone’s operating system, the ad looks exactly like a Story. It is indistinguishable code.

The Future: Less “Skip,” More “Play”

Since we cannot block them, advertisers need to make them less painful. Snapchat is actually one of the leaders in Augmented Reality (AR) and Interactive Ads, which are significantly less annoying than video interruptions.

The Shift to AR Lenses

Instead of a video interrupting your Story, brands create “Lenses” that you can play with.

• The Example: A movie studio releases a filter that turns you into a character from the film.

• The Tech: This uses technology similar to Gamewheel, where the ad is an interactive experience (a game or a transformation) rather than a passive video.

• The User Reaction: Users actively choose to use these lenses. They share them. They don’t want to block them; they want to play with them. As long as Snapchat relies on these interactive formats, the “ad load” feels lighter. It is only when they force unskippable 6-second videos between Stories that users go looking for block lists.

Conclusion

The quest to block Snapchat ads is largely a trap. DNS blocking breaks the app, modded apps get you banned, and paying for Snapchat+ does nothing for ads. The only reliable method is to develop a fast thumb to hit that “Skip” button the millisecond it appears.