You paid for the console. You pay for the games. You might even pay for PlayStation Plus or Xbox Game Pass. And still, ads are everywhere — on the dashboard, in the store, inside free-to-play games, and between menu screens. There is no ad blocker for consoles. No browser extension, no app, no setting to flip.
But there is a way: DNS filtering. By changing the DNS server your console uses, you can block ad domains before they ever reach your screen. It takes about two minutes to set up, requires no jailbreak or modification, and works on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
Game consoles have evolved from single-purpose gaming devices into advertising platforms. Sony and Microsoft both sell ad placements on their dashboards and store pages. Free-to-play games like Fortnite, Apex Legends, and Genshin Impact show promotional content and partner ads. Even paid games sometimes include in-game ads (sports games are particularly aggressive about this).
Beyond visible ads, consoles also send telemetry data — usage statistics, play time per game, store browsing habits, and error reports. This data is used to target ads and recommendations, both on the console itself and across the manufacturer's ecosystem.
Since you cannot install software on a game console (outside of games), the only way to block these ads is at the network level.
When your console loads an ad, it first performs a DNS lookup to find the ad server's IP address. DNS filtering intercepts that lookup and returns a block response. The console gets no IP address for the ad server, so the ad fails to load. The rest of the console experience — game downloads, online multiplayer, streaming apps — works normally because those use different domains.
You can configure DNS in two places: directly on the console, or on your router. Setting it on the router is preferred because it covers all devices automatically, but console-level configuration works just as well if you cannot access your router settings.
Xbox Series X|S also supports DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH) natively. For encrypted DNS, go to Advanced Settings > DNS Settings > select your Primary DNS > you can enter a DoH URL directly. This encrypts your DNS queries in addition to filtering them.
With DNS filtering active on your console, the following types of content are affected:
No — in fact, it can slightly improve it. DNS queries are resolved in milliseconds, and blocked queries are actually faster than normal ones because no upstream lookup is needed. By blocking ad and telemetry traffic, your console sends fewer background requests, which marginally reduces bandwidth usage and latency.
Online multiplayer, game downloads, and streaming apps are completely unaffected. These services use different domains that are not on any blocklist. If you ever encounter an issue with a specific game or service, you can add its domain to your allowlist and it will work immediately.
If you have multiple consoles, or if you want to protect all devices on your network (phones, tablets, smart TVs, computers), the better approach is to configure DNS at the router level. This applies filtering to every device that connects to your Wi-Fi, without needing to configure each one individually.
Change your router's DNS servers to the UnveilDNS IP addresses (found in your Setup page), and every device on the network — including all game consoles — will use filtered DNS automatically. The UnveilDNS Setup page has specific instructions for popular router brands including ASUS, TP-Link, Netgear, MikroTik, pfSense, and UniFi.
DNS filtering that works on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, smart TVs, and everything else on your network.
Get Started FreeOnce DNS filtering is set up on your console or router, you also benefit from all the other filtering features: malware protection, phishing blocking, and parental controls. If you have children who play online, you can block access to inappropriate content, social media, or specific services — all from your UnveilDNS dashboard, without touching the console itself.
The Schedule feature is particularly useful for parents: block gaming services during school hours and homework time, and allow them automatically in the evening and on weekends. No arguments about screen time — the schedule handles it.