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Open source, free, and no “acceptable” ads!: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adblock-fast/id1032930802 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adblock-fast/id1032930802

by byoogle 11y ago

Open source, free, and no “acceptable” ads!: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adblock-fast/id1032930802 https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/adblock-fast/id1032930802 I’m one of the devs and here’s the code: https://github.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast https://github.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
pduan 11y ago
How come none of these ad blockers work on iPhone 5?
- psophis 11y ago
  Apples framework for ad blockers is 64bit only.
- numair 11y ago
  You have to have a 64-bit iPhone for the "content filtering" functions. The iPhone 5 is the last 32-bit CPU-based iPhone.
  - pduan 11y ago
    Thanks! Although jailbroken ad blockers were working. Guess it's an Apple framework limitation.
    - userbinator 11y ago
      Most definitely an artificial limitation. There's nothing about blocking ads that requires a 64-bit CPU.
      - hughes 11y ago
        What if there are (2^32)+1 ads on the screen!?
        pinewurst 11y ago
        Just don't look at Yahoo sites then. :)
        jbrooksuk 11y ago
        Or The Verge!
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
      - usef- 11y ago
        Apparently the block list is compiled/JITed to native code when loaded for better performance and battery life. They probably decided it wasn't worth the engineering effort to add a second code generation backend for 32bit phones (which are now three+ generations old and already facing RAM limitations).
  - dave_sullivan 11y ago
    Yeah, I love how they make it sound like old iphones "weren't powerful enough to handle blocking ads!" when blocking ads actually significantly cuts down on the resource usage. What's frustrating is that on their new phones you can block ads in Safari proper, but apparently not from within an app like Flipboard. I guess they're saving that particular "feature".
    - Bud 11y ago
      How would a framework that is explictly part of and designed for Safari possibly work in a third-party app with sandboxing? Seems pretty silly to accuse Apple of nefariously "saving" this. Similarly, Apple never "made it sound" like old iPhones "weren't powerful enough". You really shouldn't put things in quotation marks and attribute them to others when you just made them up.
      - dave_sullivan 11y ago
        They could have it edit the hosts file or some better global interface for blocking/not blocking certain hosts from any app (which would be most users' preference when using ad blockers?) I think it's ok to use scare quotes to convey sarcasm instead of a direct quote. There's admittedly some ambiguity there. 32bit vs 64bit is a super lame limitation to claim, and to most people "number of bits" would appear performance related. It's nice they finally enabled a way to block ads, but it's hardly a feature they deserve a pat on the back for. It's more like, I was seriously considering switching to Android if they didn't add it.
    - yuanchuan 11y ago
      Correct me if I'm wrong. I watched the Safari Content Blocker video that is presented in WWDC 2015 and it mentioned that the list of content to be filtered is compiled to bit code instead of reading it as a JSON file, which makes it more efficient and less draining on CPU. Since it is compiled down to bit code, 32-bit will not be compatible to 64-bit and that's why only the newer iPhones and iPads are compatible. It is not that iPhone 5 is not powerful enough but simply the CPU architecture doesn't support.
- avn2109 11y ago
  Planned obsolescence. You need an incentive to buy a new iPhone.
  - freshyill 11y ago
    The fact that iOS 9 supports the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, which were released in 2011, kind of takes the bite out of the grand conspiracy theory.
- pinewurst 11y ago
  The store won't carry 32-bit ad blockers but they do work. Try: https://medium.com/@searls/installing-a-content-blocker-on-ios-9-public-beta-a25b2b83848f https://medium.com/@searls/installing-a-content-blocker-on-i... Instructions to build and install a blocker that works on iPhone 5 and iPad Retina, where they work fine.
  - 0x0 11y ago
    That's pretty shabby of Apple to claim one thing and have their official developer tools say something else even without having to tweak anything :-/
    - maccard 11y ago
      I believe their claim is that it's for performance reasons. Drawing the line at everything without a 64 bit processor seems reasonable (from a "where do we draw the line" not a where dhould we draw the line)
handedness 11y ago
Fantastic. Thanks!
yuhong 11y ago
Good ad blockers should not have paid "acceptable" ad lists, but those that don't allow users to create their own whitelists/blacklists are not good either. Reddit for example uses ad networks sometimes, but also do their own ads.
- byoogle 11y ago
  Pull requests welcome! (Especially if you figure out a non-clunky way to implement custom lists.)
- ryanmerket 11y ago
  Reddit Ads PM here. We actually don't run 3rd party ads on reddit.com.
  - rekshaw 11y ago
    well, you kind of do. the HIRED.com ads are everywhere in the programming subreddit
    - girvo 11y ago
      Sure, but that's not through a third party as network.
Boxbot 11y ago
Thanks for sharing! I was initially very happy with Crystal but an ad blocker that doesn't block ads doesn't sound very useful to me.
- harryf 11y ago
  Also free and fast with a scrutinizable list of rules is AdMop - http://admop.iphonso.com http://admop.iphonso.com - the developer talks about it here: https://reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3ljsx9/admop_free_vs_others_paid/ https://reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3ljsx9/admop_free_vs_oth...
  - 0x0 11y ago
    There's something weird with this app, it asks to "sign in with icloud" to update the blocking rules... I'm already signed into icloud and I honestly don't understand how this is related to an app's block list update feature??!
    - harryf 11y ago
      It has a feature to download new block rule sets. Perhaps that's where iCloud is used?
    - seviu 11y ago
      Hi! I'm the developer of AdMop. The reason why you're being ask to login is because app needs access not only to iCloud but also iCloud Drive. This is for downloading new rules, which I publish as files over iCloud Drive. I'm planning to change that mechanism in the next version of AdMop; the current approach was the fastest "quick and dirty" solution to have a working implementation. That said I do want to keep using CloudKit as a backend - which requires iCloud access - so I can use it as a place for users to store their own white lists; something quite a few have asked me for. Anyway thanks all for trying AdMop - thanks to your feedback I'll include a note in the store description in future for why the app needs iCloud access.
msie 11y ago
With just 7 rules you must be letting some ads through that are blocked by AdBlock?
- byoogle 11y ago
  Correct, Adblock Fast’s blocking is meant to be “good enough” (and not catch every single, last ad) but in exchange for much better browser perf than other ad blockers or no ad blocker.
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  - newscracker 11y ago
    I'd love it if there were a choice between your current approach and something that's like "aggressively block all ads".
mikeokner 11y ago
I see your app is GPLv3 but I don't see any exception in there for Apple, nor do I see any mention of a release for other developers to sign before accepting pull requests. The vanilla GPLv3 is incompatible with Apple's App Store and they have pulled GPL apps in the past as a result. See: http://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-store/ http://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-stor... Here's an example of a work-around that would allow you to retain a copyleft license and continue to distribute your app on the app store: https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-iOS/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#contributor-agreement https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-iOS/blob/master/CON...
- byoogle 11y ago
  Ty! Do you mind filing a bug against the repo, so we have a good place to follow up?
  - nixgeek 11y ago
    https://github.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast/issues/12 https://github.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast/issues/12
- nicky0 11y ago
  Apple removed the VLC app because of a copyright infringement claim from the VLC copyright holder. The don't proactively remove GPL'd apps just because of the license.
KayL 11y ago
7 rules ? Where can I find the list
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- ianlevesque 11y ago
  Well, on iOS it's a LOT more than 7: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast/master/ios/blocker/blockerList.json https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast...
  - msie 11y ago
    Hmmm, that's truth in advertising...
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

by byoogle 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

pduan 11y ago

How come none of these ad blockers work on iPhone 5?

psophis 11y ago
Apples framework for ad blockers is 64bit only.
numair 11y ago
You have to have a 64-bit iPhone for the "content filtering" functions. The iPhone 5 is the last 32-bit CPU-based iPhone.
- pduan 11y ago
  Thanks! Although jailbroken ad blockers were working. Guess it's an Apple framework limitation.
  - userbinator 11y ago
    Most definitely an artificial limitation. There's nothing about blocking ads that requires a 64-bit CPU.
    - hughes 11y ago
      What if there are (2^32)+1 ads on the screen!?
      - pinewurst 11y ago
        Just don't look at Yahoo sites then. :)
        jbrooksuk 11y ago
        Or The Verge!
        deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
    - usef- 11y ago
      Apparently the block list is compiled/JITed to native code when loaded for better performance and battery life. They probably decided it wasn't worth the engineering effort to add a second code generation backend for 32bit phones (which are now three+ generations old and already facing RAM limitations).
- dave_sullivan 11y ago
  Yeah, I love how they make it sound like old iphones "weren't powerful enough to handle blocking ads!" when blocking ads actually significantly cuts down on the resource usage. What's frustrating is that on their new phones you can block ads in Safari proper, but apparently not from within an app like Flipboard. I guess they're saving that particular "feature".
  - Bud 11y ago
    How would a framework that is explictly part of and designed for Safari possibly work in a third-party app with sandboxing? Seems pretty silly to accuse Apple of nefariously "saving" this. Similarly, Apple never "made it sound" like old iPhones "weren't powerful enough". You really shouldn't put things in quotation marks and attribute them to others when you just made them up.
    - dave_sullivan 11y ago
      They could have it edit the hosts file or some better global interface for blocking/not blocking certain hosts from any app (which would be most users' preference when using ad blockers?) I think it's ok to use scare quotes to convey sarcasm instead of a direct quote. There's admittedly some ambiguity there. 32bit vs 64bit is a super lame limitation to claim, and to most people "number of bits" would appear performance related. It's nice they finally enabled a way to block ads, but it's hardly a feature they deserve a pat on the back for. It's more like, I was seriously considering switching to Android if they didn't add it.
  - yuanchuan 11y ago
    Correct me if I'm wrong. I watched the Safari Content Blocker video that is presented in WWDC 2015 and it mentioned that the list of content to be filtered is compiled to bit code instead of reading it as a JSON file, which makes it more efficient and less draining on CPU. Since it is compiled down to bit code, 32-bit will not be compatible to 64-bit and that's why only the newer iPhones and iPads are compatible. It is not that iPhone 5 is not powerful enough but simply the CPU architecture doesn't support.
avn2109 11y ago
Planned obsolescence. You need an incentive to buy a new iPhone.
- freshyill 11y ago
  The fact that iOS 9 supports the iPhone 4S and iPad 2, which were released in 2011, kind of takes the bite out of the grand conspiracy theory.
pinewurst 11y ago
The store won't carry 32-bit ad blockers but they do work. Try: https://medium.com/@searls/installing-a-content-blocker-on-ios-9-public-beta-a25b2b83848f https://medium.com/@searls/installing-a-content-blocker-on-i... Instructions to build and install a blocker that works on iPhone 5 and iPad Retina, where they work fine.
- 0x0 11y ago
  That's pretty shabby of Apple to claim one thing and have their official developer tools say something else even without having to tweak anything :-/
  - maccard 11y ago
    I believe their claim is that it's for performance reasons. Drawing the line at everything without a 64 bit processor seems reasonable (from a "where do we draw the line" not a where dhould we draw the line)

handedness 11y ago

Fantastic. Thanks!

yuhong 11y ago

Good ad blockers should not have paid "acceptable" ad lists, but those that don't allow users to create their own whitelists/blacklists are not good either. Reddit for example uses ad networks sometimes, but also do their own ads.

byoogle 11y ago
Pull requests welcome! (Especially if you figure out a non-clunky way to implement custom lists.)
ryanmerket 11y ago
Reddit Ads PM here. We actually don't run 3rd party ads on reddit.com.
- rekshaw 11y ago
  well, you kind of do. the HIRED.com ads are everywhere in the programming subreddit
  - girvo 11y ago
    Sure, but that's not through a third party as network.

Boxbot 11y ago

Thanks for sharing! I was initially very happy with Crystal but an ad blocker that doesn't block ads doesn't sound very useful to me.

harryf 11y ago
Also free and fast with a scrutinizable list of rules is AdMop - http://admop.iphonso.com http://admop.iphonso.com - the developer talks about it here: https://reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3ljsx9/admop_free_vs_others_paid/ https://reddit.com/r/apple/comments/3ljsx9/admop_free_vs_oth...
- 0x0 11y ago
  There's something weird with this app, it asks to "sign in with icloud" to update the blocking rules... I'm already signed into icloud and I honestly don't understand how this is related to an app's block list update feature??!
  - harryf 11y ago
    It has a feature to download new block rule sets. Perhaps that's where iCloud is used?
  - seviu 11y ago
    Hi! I'm the developer of AdMop. The reason why you're being ask to login is because app needs access not only to iCloud but also iCloud Drive. This is for downloading new rules, which I publish as files over iCloud Drive. I'm planning to change that mechanism in the next version of AdMop; the current approach was the fastest "quick and dirty" solution to have a working implementation. That said I do want to keep using CloudKit as a backend - which requires iCloud access - so I can use it as a place for users to store their own white lists; something quite a few have asked me for. Anyway thanks all for trying AdMop - thanks to your feedback I'll include a note in the store description in future for why the app needs iCloud access.

msie 11y ago

With just 7 rules you must be letting some ads through that are blocked by AdBlock?

byoogle 11y ago
Correct, Adblock Fast’s blocking is meant to be “good enough” (and not catch every single, last ad) but in exchange for much better browser perf than other ad blockers or no ad blocker.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- newscracker 11y ago
  I'd love it if there were a choice between your current approach and something that's like "aggressively block all ads".

mikeokner 11y ago

I see your app is GPLv3 but I don't see any exception in there for Apple, nor do I see any mention of a release for other developers to sign before accepting pull requests. The vanilla GPLv3 is incompatible with Apple's App Store and they have pulled GPL apps in the past as a result. See: http://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-store/ http://www.zdnet.com/article/no-gpl-apps-for-apples-app-stor... Here's an example of a work-around that would allow you to retain a copyleft license and continue to distribute your app on the app store: https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-iOS/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md#contributor-agreement https://github.com/WhisperSystems/Signal-iOS/blob/master/CON...

byoogle 11y ago
Ty! Do you mind filing a bug against the repo, so we have a good place to follow up?
- nixgeek 11y ago
  https://github.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast/issues/12 https://github.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast/issues/12
nicky0 11y ago
Apple removed the VLC app because of a copyright infringement claim from the VLC copyright holder. The don't proactively remove GPL'd apps just because of the license.

KayL 11y ago

7 rules ? Where can I find the list

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
ianlevesque 11y ago
Well, on iOS it's a LOT more than 7: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast/master/ios/blocker/blockerList.json https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rocketshipapps/adblockfast...
- msie 11y ago
  Hmmm, that's truth in advertising...

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]