You can’t block ads in Facebook, Instagram or TikTok on mobile. Google places Android search ads. In app ads also cannot be blocked.

It is a misconception that ad blockers significantly impact the ad market as a whole, obviously they impact Google and web advertisers though.

https://pi-hole.net not work?

No. The in app ads in Meta properties are served from the same gateway as the rest of the API.

Checkout "revanced" (the git repo) it contains a collection of "patches" for a lot of major apps. There are AdBlock patches for Instagram and TikTok. You can build the patched APKs on your phone using their manager app

Thanks, I don't use those apps, but know people who can profit of it.

Also I really like the given email:

nosupport@revanced.app

Makes it clear what not to write them (but I bet many still do).

Unless I'm mistaken, most ad blockers prevent a programmatic auction from even triggering, right?

Yes, the only one that doesn't AFAIK is adnauseum as that is their core value, triggering these ads to make it a loss.

Which is kind of shitty because (also AFAIK) you end up hurting the publishers who run those ads way more than the advertisers who place them or the ad platforms who facilitate buying and selling the ads... I'm pretty sure a lot of ad platforms will ask for their money back if they find out the publishers are serving ads that don't get seen by human eyes.

I don't know how much of that is true, but yes the intention is to cause disruption to ad systems that encourage data profiling and so groups involved from publishers to the auction owners will be distrustful of one another increasingly.

Mobile phones are definitely what keeps the advertising industry alive, especially social media.

In my opinion, thats a good thing for the majority of the population. Those who do not care about ads and tracking makes it so evasion still possible (to some extent)

I use a DNS based ad blocker on Android which is very effective. It sometimes causes minor issues, but it works even outside the browser, blocking ads from apps that spam you at every turn.

I guess you use curated lists (the same as ublock uses), or do you maintain your own?

I use curated lists that I've added exceptions to