Pi-hole Broke a Streaming App? An AI Allowlist Prompt

Pi-hole broke {app} on my {device}. Symptom: {symptom}.

Here are the domains Pi-hole blocked from that device in the minute around when it broke (from the Query Log):
{blocked_domains}

For each domain:
- Say what it most likely is (the app's own service, a CDN, ads, analytics/telemetry), and how confident you are.
- Give a verdict: ALLOW (needed for the app to work), KEEP BLOCKED (safe to block), or TEST (allow it, retry, and block it again if it didn't help).
Then give me the exact Pi-hole v6 commands for the ALLOW and TEST domains, in the order to try them. Allow as few domains as possible.

◆ Tested on Claude Opus 5.5 · October 5, 2026. The example below is that model's actual output for the sample details shown. AI answers vary between runs, so check anything important.

Example input

• app: a free ad-supported streaming app
• device: Fire TV Stick 4K Max
• symptom: the app opens, but every video spins forever
• blocked_domains: device-metrics-us.amazon.com · imasdk.googleapis.com · pubads.g.doubleclick.net · dpm.demdex.net · app-measurement.com

Example output

Domain	What it is	Confidence	Verdict
device-metrics-us.amazon.com	Fire TV usage telemetry to Amazon	High	KEEP BLOCKED. It doesn’t affect playback.
imasdk.googleapis.com	Google’s video-ad SDK (IMA). Free ad-supported apps often won’t start a video without it	High	ALLOW. The most likely cause of endless spinning.
pubads.g.doubleclick.net	Google ad server that supplies the ads	High	TEST. Some free apps refuse to play until the ad request succeeds.
dpm.demdex.net	Adobe analytics identity service	Medium	KEEP BLOCKED for now. It occasionally breaks sign-ins, but this app doesn’t need one.
app-measurement.com	Google/Firebase app analytics	High	KEEP BLOCKED. Safe to block.

Try in this order:

pihole allow imasdk.googleapis.com
# retry the video; only if it still spins:
pihole allow pubads.g.doubleclick.net

If the second one wasn’t needed, remove it with pihole allow remove pubads.g.doubleclick.net.

Expect a trade-off: a free ad-supported app usually needs its ads to load. If you allow these domains, you’ll see ads in that app; the alternative is to stop using that app.

Tips

• Filter the Query Log to just the broken device and the minute it broke before you paste. A short list gets a far more accurate answer.
• Any AI can mislabel an obscure domain, which is why this prompt uses TEST and allows as few domains as possible.
• Running a local model with Ollama means your browsing data never leaves the house. That suits a privacy tool like Pi-hole.
• Setting up from scratch? Follow our Pi-hole on Raspberry Pi tutorial.