Adblock Android SDK

An Android library project, tests, settings fragments and demo application for AdblockWebView.

Git commits

This repo uses pre-commit to maintain agreed conventions in the repo. It should be installed (tldr; pip install pre-commit then pre-commit install) before making any new commits to the repo.

Updating the dependencies

Adblock Android SDK has dependencies that aren't in this repository. To update those, call:

./ensure_dependencies.py

Please make sure you have python2 installed

Library

An Android library that provides the core functionality of Adblock Plus. You can find it in the 'adblock-android' directory.

Using as a Gradle dependency

Make sure you have jcenter() in the list of repositories and then add the following dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.adblockplus:adblock-android:3.0'
}

In general case it's suggested to use the most recent version.

Building

Requirements

• The Android SDK
• Android SDK Build tools 28.0.3
• The Android NDK, 16b

Edit 'buildToolsVersion' in 'build.gradle' files if necessary.

Building of libadblockplus

First, make sure all the prerequisites are installed. Second, one needs to build V8 required for libadblockplus. See libadblockplus/README or V8 documentation on how to build V8 or fetch precompiled one. For the latter, run in 'libadblockplus' directory:

make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm64 Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=ia32 Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=x64 Configuration=release get-prebuilt-v8

Make sure to set ANDROID_NDK_ROOT environment variable to point to Android NDK installation, eg.:

export ANDROID_NDK_ROOT=/Users/developer/ndk/android-ndk-r16b

After that we can build libadblockplus:

make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm Configuration=release
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=arm64 Configuration=release
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=ia32 Configuration=release
make TARGET_OS=android ABP_TARGET_ARCH=x64 Configuration=release

Building from command-line

In the project root directory create the file local.properties and set sdk.dir and ndk.dir to where you installed it, e.g.:

sdk.dir = /some/where/sdk
ndk.dir = /some/where/ndk

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assembleDebug

This will generate *.aar artifacts in the '.../build/outputs/aar/' directories:

• adblock-android-abi_all-... - AAR for all the ARCHs (x86, armv7a, arm64)
• adblock-android-abi_x86-... - AAR for x86 only
• adblock-android-abi_x86_64-... - AAR for x86_64 only
• adblock-android-abi_arm-... - AAR for armv7a only
• adblock-android-abi_arm64-... - AAR for arm64 only
• adblock-android-webview-... - AAR for AdblockWebView
• adblock-android-settings-... - AAR for Settings

Android permissions note

An app that uses the library have to add the following permissions to AndroidManifest.xml:

• <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>
• <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_WIFI_STATE"/>
• <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET"/>

(added automatically if building with Gradle or should be added manually otherwise).

Build directory configuration

By default Gradle uses build directory to build modules, however it can be undesired for some use cases like CI or building as Chromium submodule. Set GRADLE_BUILD_DIR environment variable to configure build directory:

GRADLE_BUILD_DIR=/tmp ./gradlew clean assemble

Note

[Configuration] Building project in /tmp

output while building

Building with prebuilt shared V8

This can be desired to use product's V8 (let's say Chromium) instead of built-in V8. Put prebuilt shared V8 library file(s) in ARCH directories and set SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES environment variable and SHARED_V8_LIB_DIR before building. You can pass multiple filenames in SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES, separated with space. Libadblockplus is required to be linked with that library file(s).

For example:

SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES=libv8.cr.so SHARED_V8_LIB_DIR="/tmp/shared_v8" ./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm

or

SHARED_V8_LIB_FILENAMES="libv8.cr.so libv8_libbase.cr.so libv8_libplatform.cr.so" SHARED_V8_LIB_DIR="/tmp/shared_v8" ./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm

for multiple library files.

Note

[Configuration] Excluding shared v8 library libv8.cr.so from AAR
...
[Configuration] Linking dynamically with shared v8 library /tmp/shared_v8/release/libv8.cr.so
...

output while building.

Building with exposing of libadblockplus classes

Set EXPOSE_LIBABP_OBJECTS environment variable to expose libadblockplus classes in shared library.

For example:

EXPOSE_LIBABP_OBJECTS=y ./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm

JNI adjustments

In order to load custom library name pass LIBABP_SHARED_LIBRARY_NAME environment variable (without lib and .so):

LIBABP_SHARED_LIBRARY_NAME=adblockplus ./gradlew assembleRelease

In order to skip compilation of JNI classes pass SKIP_JNI_COMPILATION environment variable:

SKIP_JNI_COMPILATION=true ./gradlew assembleRelease

Building for single ARCH

By default adblock-android is built for ARM/ARM64 and x86/x86_64 and it can be filtered when building end-user android application. However sometimes it can be desired to build "adblock-android.aar" for single ARCH.

Pass abi_arm, abi_arm64, abi_x86, or abi_x86_64 to build it for single arch or abi_all for all ARCHs:

`./gradlew clean assembleAbi_arm`

Note

[Configuration] Using adblock-android ABI flavor: abi_arm

output while building.

SDK tests

Pure java tests

You can find pure Java tests in 'src/test' directories of the modules (if provided). In the project directory run:

./gradlew test

You can select test class/method and click 'Run ..Test'. No Android emulator/device running required.

Android tests

You can find Android tests in 'src/androidTest' directories of the modules (if provided). In the project directory run:

./gradlew connectedAbi_x86DebugAndroidTest

to test with x86 device/emulator or run:

./gradlew connectedAbi_armDebugAndroidTest

to test with ARM device/emulator. You can select test class/method and click 'Run ..Test'.

Settings

An Android library that provides a configuration interface for Adblock Plus. You can find it in the 'adblock-android-settings' directory:

• GeneralSettingsFragment - main fragment
• WhitelistedDomainsSettingsFragment - whitelisted domains fragment

Using as a Gradle dependency

Make sure you have jcenter() in the list of repositories and then add the following dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.adblockplus:adblock-android-settings:3.0'
}

In general case it's suggested to use the most recent version.

Usage

Create AdblockEngineProvider instance and AdblockSettingsStorage instance. You can use SharedPrefsStorage implementation to store settings in SharedPreferences. Or you can use AdblockHelper:

AdblockHelper
  .get()
  .init(this, getFilesDir().getAbsolutePath(), true, AdblockHelper.PREFERENCE_NAME);

  // optional - provide preloaded subscription files in app resources
  .preloadSubscriptions(AdblockHelper.PRELOAD_PREFERENCE_NAME, map);

Make sure you initialize it once during app launch, call isInit() to check it:

if (!AdblockHelper.get().isInit())
{
  // requires initialization
  ...
}

Sometimes it's desired to initialize or deinitialize FilterEngine instance when created:

AdblockHelper
  .get()
  .init(...)
  .addEngineCreatedListener(engineCreatedListener)

or disposed:

AdblockHelper
  .get()
  .init(...)
  .addEngineDisposedListener(engineDisposedListener)

Make sure you deinitialize it when values used during initialization are no longer valid:

AdblockHelper.get().deinit();

Note one have to initialize it again to be used.

Implement the following interfaces in your settings activity:

• BaseSettingsFragment.Provider
• GeneralSettingsFragment.Listener
• WhitelistedDomainsSettingsFragment.Listener

and return created instance or AdblockHelper instances:

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().getEngine();  // engine
AdblockHelper.get().getStorage(); // storage

Retain Adblock instance in activity onCreate in synchronous mode (it may take few seconds):

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().retain(false);

or in asynchronous mode (without current thread lock):

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().retain(true);

Invoke waitForReady every time you need AdblockEngine instance if retained in asynchronous mode:

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().waitForReady();

Release Adblock instance in activity onDestroy:

AdblockHelper.get().getProvider().release();

Insert GeneralSettingsFragment fragment instance in runtime to start showing settings UI.

Background operations

By default filter engine will do some background operations like subscriptions synchronizations in background shorly after initialized. If you want to have ad blocking as optional feature, you should consider use setDisabledByDefault

    AdblockHelper
      .get()
      .init(...)
      .setDisabledByDefault()

In this case no background operations will be done once you will call AdblockEngine.setEnabled(true). Please note that this method configures only default state. If user prefrence on enabled state is stored in settings, this value will be preferred.

Other thing to take into account is synchroization time. If you have configured setDisabledByDefault and then enable engine, first synchronization will be done only after some time. You can combine configuration with preloadSubscriptions to load data from local file first time rather then from web.

Preloaded subscriptions

As mentioned, there is an option to set preloaded subscriptions. This means that at the application's first boot time, and every time the user clears the app's data, it will load the subscription lists that are bundled with the app. It will also set async calls to update these lists at once so that they are updated as soon as possible. Keep in mind that the ad-block engine will still ping periodically for updates on the subscriptions at an hourly interval.

The benefit of using this method is that it provides a better UX since the app does not have to wait for the subscription lists to be downloaded first, hence allowing the user to have an ad-blocking experience right away.

On the other hand, this is an opt-in feature that you have to set up. It also increases the footprint of the app by bundling the subscription lists with it, and you have to update the lists when building the apk. This is because subscription lists become outdated very fast. Ideally, you can set a gradle task for that, which is what we did.

By running ./gradlew downloadSubscriptionLists, you update the preloaded EasyList and exception list to the latest ones.

To set it up in the code, you have to first map the URLs of the subscriptions to local files.

Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<String, Integer>();
map.put(AndroidHttpClientResourceWrapper.EASYLIST, R.raw.easylist);
map.put(AndroidHttpClientResourceWrapper.ACCEPTABLE_ADS, R.raw.exceptionrules);

Note that in this example we use the general EasyList subscription. So for example, if you are using subscription lists for another locale, you need to change the URL and replace the file with the correct one. The effect is not the same without these preloaded subscriptions.

Then, when using the adblockhelper for example, you can set it like:

adblockHelper
    .get()
    .init(this, basePath, true, AdblockHelper.PREFERENCE_NAME)
    .preloadSubscriptions(AdblockHelper.PRELOAD_PREFERENCE_NAME, map)
    .addEngineCreatedListener(engineCreatedListener)
    .addEngineDisposedListener(engineDisposedListener)

Theme

Make sure to set application theme with PreferenceThemeOverlay.v14.Material parent theme (see AndroidManifest.xml and styles.xml in adblock-android-webviewapp as an example).

Building

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assemble

This will generate *.aar in the 'adblock-android-settings/build/outputs/aar' directory.

WebView

An Android library that provides a WebView component with Adblock Plus integrated. You can find it in the 'adblock-android-webview' directory.

AdblockWebView class provides built-in ad blocking (both resource loading filtering and element hiding) and inherits from Android 'WebView'.

Using as a Gradle dependency

Make sure you have jcenter() in the list of repositories and then add the following dependency:

dependencies {
    implementation 'org.adblockplus:adblock-android-webview:3.0'
}

In general case it's suggested to use the most recent version.

Usage

In layout XML:

<org.adblockplus.libadblockplus.android.webview.AdblockWebView
    android:id="@+id/main_webview"
    android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent"/>

In java source code:

AdblockWebView webView = findViewById(R.id.main_webview);

Use AdblockEngine.setEnabled(boolean enabled) to enable/disable ad blocking for AdblockEngine. Make sure you update the settings model if you want the new value to be applied after application restart, eg:

AdblockSettingsStorage storage = AdblockHelper.get().getStorage();
AdblockSettings settings = storage.load();
if (settings == null) // not yet saved
{
  settings = AdblockSettingsStorage.getDefaultSettings(...); // default
}
...
settings.setAdblockEnabled(newValue);
storage.save(settings);

Android SDK logging system is based on Timber library.

If you are configuring your project using Maven dependencies to consume our Android SDK then Timber dependency is automatically installed. If you are just copying AAR files to your project workspace then you need to add this line to your dependencies:

implementation 'com.jakewharton.timber:timber:4.7.1'.

To enable desired log output level configure Timber logger in your application code.

For example this code enables all debug logs in DEBUG mode:

if (BuildConfig.DEBUG) {
    Timber.plant(new Timber.DebugTree());
}

Please refer to https://github.com/JakeWharton/timber for more information about Timber.

Use setAllowDrawDelay(int allowDrawDelay) to set custom delay to start render webpage after 'DOMContentLoaded' event is fired.

Use setProvider(@NotNull AdblockEngineProvider provider) to use external adblock engine provider. The simplest solution is to use AdblockHelper from -settings as external adblock engine provider:

webView.setProvider(AdblockHelper.get().getProvider());

If adblock engine provider is not set, it's created by AdblockWebView instance automatically.

Use setSiteKeysConfiguration(..) to support sitekeys whitelisting. This is optional but highly suggested. See TabFragment.java on usage example.

Use setEventsListener() to subscribe and unsubscribe to ad blocking and whitelisting events, eg. "resource loading blocked" or "resource loading whitelisted" event that can be used for stats. For the latter there is a convenience class WebViewCounters which can be bound to EventsListener and notify your View about new values. See an example of usage in WebView Application.

Use dispose(Runnable disposeFinished) to release resources (required). Note it can be invoked from background thread.

Enabling/disabling of ad blocking per AdblockWebView is not supported.

Building

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assemble

This will generate *.aar in the 'adblock-android-webview/build/outputs/aar' directory.

WebView Application

An Android application that demonstrates how to use AdblockWebView. You can find it in the 'adblock-android-webviewapp' directory.

Building

Make sure Library requirements are present.

In the project root directory run:

./gradlew assemble

This will generate *.apk in the 'adblock-android-webviewapp/build/outputs/apk/' directory.

Proguard

Required configuration changes

Configure Proguard/R8 to skip Adblock Android SDK files (root package org.adblockplus.libadblockplus) from being modified for Release build of end-user application. See adblock-android/proguard-rules-adblock.txt as an example. If building end-user application with Gradle, no actions are required - Gradle will use provided consumer Proguard file automatically. See https://developer.android.com/studio/projects/android-library "A library module may include its own ProGuard configuration file" section for further information.

Reason

Adblock Android SDK uses JNI behind the scene so Java classes and methods are accessed by full names from native code. If class names/members are modified by Proguard/R8 during Release build they can't be accessed from native code resulting into Runtime exceptions like follows:

java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: no non-static method "Lorg/adblockplus/libadblockplus/JsValue;.<init>(J)V"