Pi-hole is widely regarded as one of the most effective network-level ad blockers available today. By filtering DNS requests before ads ever load, it promises a cleaner browsing experience across all devices on your network. Yet many users are surprised to find that Reddit’s promoted posts continue to appear even with Pi-hole running flawlessly. This can create confusion about whether the tool is misconfigured, outdated, or simply ineffective against certain ad delivery methods.
TLDR: Reddit promoted ads often bypass Pi-hole because they are delivered from the same domains as regular Reddit content. Since Pi-hole blocks at the DNS level, it cannot easily distinguish ads from legitimate traffic when both share infrastructure. Fixing this requires smarter configuration, including custom blocklists, conditional DNS rules, browser-level support, and HTTPS inspection awareness. The five configuration fixes below significantly improve filtering results while maintaining stability.
To understand why Reddit ads slip through, you first need to understand how Pi-hole works. Pi-hole blocks content by preventing your device from resolving known advertising or tracking domains. When an app or website attempts to contact an ad server, Pi-hole intercepts the request and returns a null response. However, when ads are served from the same domain as primary content—as Reddit increasingly does—blocking becomes more complicated. Blocking the domain entirely would break Reddit itself.
Why Reddit Promoted Ads Are Difficult to Block
Reddit has moved much of its advertising delivery behind first-party domains. Instead of serving ads from easily identifiable third-party ad networks, promoted posts are often inserted directly into the feed from reddit.com itself. Because of this:
- DNS-based blocking cannot differentiate between promoted and organic content.
- Blocking reddit.com entirely is not practical.
- Ads are often served via HTTPS, encrypting the payload.
- The Reddit mobile app embeds ads directly in API responses.
This architectural change fundamentally limits what network-level blockers can achieve on their own.
Image not found in postmetaConfiguration Fix #1: Update and Optimize Your Blocklists
Outdated blocklists are one of the most common causes of poor filtering performance. While blocklists may not fully eliminate Reddit promoted ads, keeping them current ensures you are blocking any auxiliary ad and tracking domains Reddit still relies on.
Recommended steps:
- Remove redundant or low-quality blocklists.
- Add reputable, frequently updated lists.
- Run pihole -g to rebuild gravity.
- Monitor the Query Log for uncaught ad domains.
Focus on curated, actively maintained lists rather than simply adding dozens of sources. Excessive lists can slow DNS resolution and introduce false positives.
Important: Even the best lists will not block first-party ads embedded directly from reddit.com. However, they may block supplementary tracking endpoints such as telemetry and analytics subdomains.
Configuration Fix #2: Use Regex and Wildcard Filtering Strategically
Regex filtering in Pi-hole allows you to block patterns rather than fixed domains. While this requires caution, it can significantly improve filtering precision.
For example, you may detect repeating ad-related subdomain patterns in your logs. Instead of blocking each individually, you can create a single regex rule that targets similar structures.
Best practices:
- Test regex rules incrementally.
- Monitor logs carefully after enabling.
- Avoid broad patterns that may disrupt legitimate Reddit API calls.
Keep in mind that overly aggressive wildcard blocking can break login sessions, comment loading, or voting functionality. Precision is essential.
Configuration Fix #3: Combine Pi-hole with Browser-Level Blockers
This is arguably the most effective solution. Since Reddit serves many ads from first-party domains, DNS-level blocking alone is insufficient. Browser-based content blockers analyze page elements after they load and can distinguish between promoted posts and organic ones.
A layered approach works best:
- Pi-hole: Blocks known ad networks and trackers across your network.
- Browser content blocker: Filters DOM elements, scripts, and inline ads.
- Privacy-focused browser settings: Restrict third-party cookies and tracking scripts.
For desktop browsing, this combination typically removes promoted Reddit posts entirely. Unfortunately, the Reddit mobile app remains more challenging because it bypasses browser-based filtering.
Configuration Fix #4: Adjust DNS Settings for Encrypted Traffic Awareness
Modern platforms increasingly use DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT). If a device is configured to use external encrypted DNS directly, it can bypass Pi-hole entirely.
Verify the following:
- All devices use Pi-hole as their primary DNS server.
- Router settings enforce Pi-hole at the network level.
- DoH is disabled on browsers unless routed through Pi-hole.
Some browsers automatically enable secure DNS features. If they point to external resolvers, your filtering will not work consistently.
Additionally, enabling Conditional Forwarding and properly configuring your router ensures more accurate device-level tracking in Pi-hole logs. This helps you diagnose whether Reddit ads are slipping through due to DNS bypass rather than filtering limitations.
Configuration Fix #5: Monitor Logs and Whitelist Intelligently
Ironically, overblocking can reduce your ability to fine-tune filtering. If critical Reddit assets are mistakenly blocked, you may whitelist domains that unintentionally restore ad functionality.
Instead of broad whitelisting:
- Whitelist only exact domains when necessary.
- Avoid wildcard whitelisting reddit.com subdomains.
- Analyze long-term query stats instead of reacting impulsively.
Use Pi-hole’s long-term data view to observe patterns over several days. Look for repeated ad-related queries that correlate with browsing sessions. Fine adjustments—rather than sweeping changes—produce better long-term results.
The Reddit Mobile App Challenge
Many users report that Reddit ads persist primarily within the mobile app. This is not a malfunction of Pi-hole. The app retrieves content via encrypted API calls from Reddit’s core infrastructure. Ads are embedded within normal feed data before it even reaches your device.
Because DNS cannot distinguish post type, Pi-hole cannot block promoted entries without blocking the entire Reddit API.
Possible mitigation strategies:
- Use Reddit in a mobile browser with content filtering enabled.
- Switch to alternative Reddit clients where available.
- Focus on tracker reduction rather than full ad elimination.
It is important to approach this realistically: a DNS sinkhole cannot parse encrypted JSON responses to selectively remove ad objects.
Understanding the Limits of DNS-Level Blocking
Pi-hole excels at blocking:
- Third-party ad networks
- Tracking pixels
- Telemetry domains
- Malicious command and control servers
It does not analyze page structure or encrypted content payloads. As more companies move ad serving into first-party infrastructure, DNS-based blocking alone becomes less comprehensive.
This does not make Pi-hole ineffective. It simply means its role must be understood correctly within a broader privacy strategy.
Building a Realistic Filtering Strategy
If your goal is complete elimination of Reddit promoted posts across all devices, no single tool will achieve this consistently. A strong configuration includes:
- Properly maintained Pi-hole blocklists
- Regex rules applied carefully
- Browser-level content filtering
- Router-enforced DNS usage
- Ongoing log monitoring
This layered defense provides meaningful ad reduction while preserving usability and stability.
Final Thoughts
Reddit promoted ads bypass Pi-hole not because the system is broken, but because advertising delivery methods have evolved. First-party ad serving, encrypted APIs, and mobile app integrations limit what DNS filtering alone can accomplish.
By applying the five configuration fixes outlined above—updating blocklists, using regex intelligently, layering browser filters, enforcing DNS routing, and monitoring logs carefully—you significantly enhance your filtering effectiveness. While complete removal of Reddit promoted posts in all contexts may not always be possible, a correctly configured setup can reduce intrusive advertising and tracking to a minimum.
A serious approach to network privacy requires understanding both the strengths and the boundaries of your tools. When configured thoughtfully, Pi-hole remains one of the most powerful foundational components of a secure and privacy-respecting home network.
