5 ms·

This is great! Any plans for Safari support?

by mrsmee89 7y ago

linux2647 7y ago
Not the most up to fate, but exists: https://github.com/el1t/uBlock-Safari https://github.com/el1t/uBlock-Safari
- newman314 7y ago
  This will no longer be usable on Catalina unless someone else takes up the charge. The problem afaik is similar to what Chrome has done.
lostgame 7y ago
I absolutely detest the way Extensions in Safari are handled in Mojave. Is there any way to install them without the App Store?
- girvo 7y ago
  Same. It's absolutely garbage that it requires a Mac App -- while there's workarounds for now, how much longer until they don't work either. It's a shame because I quite like Safari as a browser. Oh well, more incentive to switch back to Firefox!
- briandear 7y ago
  Part of the logic is that many extensions are very dangerous to users: the Grammarly extension, for example, vacuums up everything you type and sends your history to their servers. Most normal people don’t realize the trouble they can get into when installing extensions. Extensions can be as privacy destructive as anything on the web.
  - ClassyJacket 7y ago
    That should be my choice, not Apple's. What if there's an addon I want to see everything I type?
    - sjwright 7y ago
      Except: 1. The job of Safari isn't to be everything to everyone. 2. Most tech enthusiasts just install Firefox or Chrome anyway. 3. Your web browser is by far the most critical aspect of computer security for most users. It controls the entire trust chain between yourself and your online bank. Your browser validates the security certificates. Your browser decides what to do with the passwords you enter. Your browser decides what to show in the address bar. 4. We know that most casual web users have suffered great privacy violations from dodgy add-ons, either by disguising itself as a useful tool or via drive-by installation. This isn't a hypothetical fear. It's very real. 5. Apple's unique selling point is privacy and security. Anything they can do to ensure that your grandmother's browser isn't compromised should be prioritised and applauded. 6. You can add untrusted extensions using the Extension Builder by obtaining a free cryptographic certificate from Apple. It's not trivial but it's just the right amount of onerous to stop your grandmother from being defrauded.
  - bscphil 7y ago
    I don't know anything about that specific extension, but ... Isn't that exactly the sort of thing the Apple walled garden is supposed to protect against? Surely anything that functions as a key logger and browsing history recorder violates their terms of service? I'm fairly confident that this doesn't happen in Mozilla's addons repository. As I recall from the Stylish incident (Stylish is a similar browsing history stealing extension) they were not allowed to put this extension in AMO with the history stealing code, but it was left untouched in the Google Play store.
Marsymars 7y ago
The lack of support is in the other direction - Safari doesn't support uBlock Origin anymore. The only way to block ads is with Apple's Content Blocking API, which is fundamentally not how uBlock Origin works.
- mrsmee89 7y ago
  Interesting. How do they differ fundamentally?
  - Marsymars 7y ago
    uBlock Origin uses the WebExtension API that is common to Chromium/Firefox. Going forward, Safari for iOS/macOS will only support Apple's Content Blocking API.
- izacus 7y ago
  Interesting, didn't know that - why wasn't there the same kind of outcry as for Chrome API changes?
  - ianlevesque 7y ago
    Safari lets extensions precompile a list of patterns to block and then it does the actual blocking. The extension never sees your browsing history or network requests.
    - elyobo 7y ago
      Sounds a lot like what Chrome is bringing in.
      - vetinari 7y ago
        Chrome has a limit on the amount of the items in the list. Originally, Google wanted to max at 30k items, but after the outry, they increased it to 150k. For comparison, my uBlock has currently 101k of net filters and 49k cosmetic filters.

This is great! Any plans for Safari support?

linux2647 7y ago

Not the most up to fate, but exists: https://github.com/el1t/uBlock-Safari https://github.com/el1t/uBlock-Safari

newman314 7y ago
This will no longer be usable on Catalina unless someone else takes up the charge. The problem afaik is similar to what Chrome has done.

lostgame 7y ago

I absolutely detest the way Extensions in Safari are handled in Mojave. Is there any way to install them without the App Store?

girvo 7y ago
Same. It's absolutely garbage that it requires a Mac App -- while there's workarounds for now, how much longer until they don't work either. It's a shame because I quite like Safari as a browser. Oh well, more incentive to switch back to Firefox!
briandear 7y ago
Part of the logic is that many extensions are very dangerous to users: the Grammarly extension, for example, vacuums up everything you type and sends your history to their servers. Most normal people don’t realize the trouble they can get into when installing extensions. Extensions can be as privacy destructive as anything on the web.
- ClassyJacket 7y ago
  That should be my choice, not Apple's. What if there's an addon I want to see everything I type?
  - sjwright 7y ago
    Except: 1. The job of Safari isn't to be everything to everyone. 2. Most tech enthusiasts just install Firefox or Chrome anyway. 3. Your web browser is by far the most critical aspect of computer security for most users. It controls the entire trust chain between yourself and your online bank. Your browser validates the security certificates. Your browser decides what to do with the passwords you enter. Your browser decides what to show in the address bar. 4. We know that most casual web users have suffered great privacy violations from dodgy add-ons, either by disguising itself as a useful tool or via drive-by installation. This isn't a hypothetical fear. It's very real. 5. Apple's unique selling point is privacy and security. Anything they can do to ensure that your grandmother's browser isn't compromised should be prioritised and applauded. 6. You can add untrusted extensions using the Extension Builder by obtaining a free cryptographic certificate from Apple. It's not trivial but it's just the right amount of onerous to stop your grandmother from being defrauded.
- bscphil 7y ago
  I don't know anything about that specific extension, but ... Isn't that exactly the sort of thing the Apple walled garden is supposed to protect against? Surely anything that functions as a key logger and browsing history recorder violates their terms of service? I'm fairly confident that this doesn't happen in Mozilla's addons repository. As I recall from the Stylish incident (Stylish is a similar browsing history stealing extension) they were not allowed to put this extension in AMO with the history stealing code, but it was left untouched in the Google Play store.

Marsymars 7y ago

The lack of support is in the other direction - Safari doesn't support uBlock Origin anymore. The only way to block ads is with Apple's Content Blocking API, which is fundamentally not how uBlock Origin works.

mrsmee89 7y ago
Interesting. How do they differ fundamentally?
- Marsymars 7y ago
  uBlock Origin uses the WebExtension API that is common to Chromium/Firefox. Going forward, Safari for iOS/macOS will only support Apple's Content Blocking API.
izacus 7y ago
Interesting, didn't know that - why wasn't there the same kind of outcry as for Chrome API changes?
- ianlevesque 7y ago
  Safari lets extensions precompile a list of patterns to block and then it does the actual blocking. The extension never sees your browsing history or network requests.
  - elyobo 7y ago
    Sounds a lot like what Chrome is bringing in.
    - vetinari 7y ago
      Chrome has a limit on the amount of the items in the list. Originally, Google wanted to max at 30k items, but after the outry, they increased it to 150k. For comparison, my uBlock has currently 101k of net filters and 49k cosmetic filters.