After Blokada was removed from the Play Store for the second time in the same month and after we managed to get it listed back the last time, we decided that there is no benefit of relisting it anymore, and that’s for the following reasons:
Blokada Slim was the cut-down version of Blokada 5, and because of their policy, we could never publish the full version of Blokada there and the only way to get all the features was to escape it by downloading the Blokada 5 apk.
Now with Blokada 6 (Cloud) being available on the Play Store, it is a faster and more reliable option compared to Blokada 5, and the cloud filtering solution has addressed Google’s worries. Blokada now does not break any terms of service of Google and will be the new official app for the Google Play Store and our recommended one.
Blokada v6.2:
The v6.1 was all about solving the connectivity issues encountered with Blokada and we have received no reports of Blokada causing such issues since then.
Now with the v6.2 release, we introduced new improvements to the connectivity detection and retry, and added some more bug fixes along with updated translations and blocklists.
Blokada 5:
There were many comments claiming that Blokada will be fully paid and that Blokada 5 will be removed. Blokada 5 will always be available on our website, will always be free and we will always keep getting updated.
To sum it up, now there are two main versions of Blokada:
Blokada 6: The Official App (latest version v6.2): this is the paid version and can only be used with a one-year subscription (of roughly 1.7$ a month and free trial period of 7 days), it can only be installed through Google Play
Blokada 5: this is the free version of Blokada and it requires no subscription, it is only available on blokada.org
The usual notes:
You can perform a test of your adblocking configuration by visiting this link:
The Libre apk won’t install over the older version. Says there is a conflict. Do we need to uninstall the previous version to install Libre? Is it because of the name change?
You do need to uninstall first, however, on my LG phone using Android 8.1, the Libre file will not install period. Immediately upon trying, i am told that there was an error parsing the apk. This using the copy installed on my Android 9 tablet AND on a freshly downloaded version.
An additional question… on my tablet, it installed using OSID by default with over 350 exceptions listed as blocked. (There were more… i lost count at 350.)
Then perhaps that information should be front and centre on your web site. Blokada 5 installed and ran just fine on Android 8.1. In the abscence of information to the contrary, it would be assumed the “update” would likewise be okay. Before uninstalling Blokada 5 on my Android 8.1 phone, to install the latest, it would have been nice to know not to bother. Now i have to reinstall 5 and configure it all over again.
So, it would appear that you will not only need Blokada 4 on the web site, but for anyone running earlier than Android 9, who wants the most recent version available, you will also need Blokada 5 there. Either that, or restrict anything before Android 9 to run only on Blokada 4.
My apologies. The web site does specify an Android version minimum for Blokada Libre…“recommended for smartphones and tablets with Android 7 or newer”.
An Oppo Ph User on Color Os11.1 , i was using V4.51 which i was led to believe was still being supported (paid sub) i received a notification that v4 was out of date and to instal V 5 , which i did , that was 2 days ago (both downloaded from blokada.org) now i have another notice to upgrade via play store to V6. I have already explained that not being able to bypass with cloud + no server in my country , which meant cloud would not be of use to myself at the moment. So , can i continue with V5 plus till the end of my sub. Since i was already assured V 4 would couninue to be supported and obviously its not otherwise i would not have been notifed in app.Thank you
“Blokada 5 will always be available on our website 27, will always be free and we will always keep getting updated.”
We heard the same about Blokada 4, when was that last updated?
I am paying for a Blokada Plus subscription that won’t stay connected with Blokada 4 and the best support has ever been able to tell me is MAYBE upgrading to 5 will fix the issue.
After upgrading to V5 whick looks like its working( but as i have an oppo?) 1 of my devices all on plus , i have just read at the bottom of my settings that blokadaV5 api is incompatible with my android version . I know it will be use cloud but as i said no server or bypsss. So i do not know what to do now , since as you said V4 is unrelible which i noted as well. Im at a loss now . Thanks.
Sorry, where? What? I don’t recall such a thing in v5.
If there was an android incompatibility the app just wouldn’t install.
The blokada version on the Google play store is also able to manage your plus account.
It does have VPN implementation.
Regarding features:
We have asked what you’d like to say next here. Unluckily there was rather limited activity although this seems to be such a pressing issue for lots of folks in the community including myself.
Feedback is key for community centered development.
Engage in our polls and see what happens. That’ll make a measurable difference compared to leaning back and hoping for the best. This was why I engaged with the project in the first place
More features will arrive but underlying data of polls will definitely increase the precision of updates like they did back in the early days.
The simplest solution possible to most cloud and plus users is to use the play store version of blokada.
That’s the main player by now hence has been renamed to Blokada while the website version is called Blokada libre
Hi,
The initial release of v4 was in June 2019.
The last major update was in August 2021, a year after v5 got released. Minor updates have been shipped internally within the app without an update prompt in the meantime. Hence the eol notifications came only recently. There won’t be any new features but there may still be some maintenance updates to still be able to support old devices.
It’s July 2022 by now. Changes are necessary to adapt to new android versions, user feedback and design questions. Changes are what keeps a project alive.
Android is being actively developed itself, new restrictions are added, optimizations and changes are made.
Let’s compare the current situation to Windows:
You won’t find an up to date developer maintained copy of Firefox which officially supports Windows Vista anymore. Some software even dropped Windows 7 and 8.
The lifecycle of android applications cannot be indefinite. There are real world system limitations which prevent that:
Trust me if I say that there’d be an all-in-one blokada version if that was possible.
One which runs on all android version.
Unluckily we cannot guarantee bug fixes in some cases. The Libre approach is rather hacky since the vpn api isn’t really meant to be used locally by android. That’s android design. They implemented that for actual vpns.
Updates can pinpoint exact issues if that issue is precisely identifiable. Unluckily that’s hardly possible with all the different android versions and manufacturer overlays hence feedback to the newest version is always a necessity.
Additionally v5 builds upon an entirely new engine which has nothing in common with the v4 engine.
Hence the statement that it might address your individual issue is entirely correct: We cannot be certain since the apps are nothing alike. They behave differently, they build upon different engines and if one had bugs the other will certainly have different bugs. Nothing is bug free. V5 seems to be more efficient and stable to most users hence I’d recommend giving it - or if possible v6 - a go
The spirit of v5 lives on in v6. Versions down to v2 are all available on github, you can downgrade at any time.
We cannot guarantee solutions to individual errors but we do our best to ensure a smooth experience to all users. User feedback is hence of upmost importance and results in extremely quick written response times from our end.
Give the new versions a go. They’re quite impressive - at least to me
Enjoy your stay, we’re always excited for feedback
I had been using V4 as my main phone is an Oppo ( Color Os 11.1 ) with sub, i recieved a notice in the app 2 days ago that my version was out of date and to upgrade to V5 , it took 2 attempts but did install and seems to be working, but looking at my device settings after getting another notice to upgrade to V 6 . In settings for blokada api it says incompatible . Do i go back to V4 as cloud is of no use on my main ph as i need to bypass + no server in my country( reason for bypass) .
You can continue using every app. Blokada libre is the one which will continue to receive updates though.
It’s basically v5 but renamed and updated. It does need android 9 though so if you’re below that, feel free to use eol versions like v4 or v5
Color OS 11.1 . Which is the reason i was on V 4. As said the app serms to be working with ad blocking tests and dns leak test, so i will continue with v5 to see if all goes well. Thanks
