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Yes, there's a few features of WebExtensions that Safari chose not to implement. I'm having a hard time finding the article and discussion about this. The missi

Yes, there's a few features of WebExtensions that Safari chose not to implement. I'm having a hard time finding the article and discussion about this. The missing features prevent ad blockers like uBlock Origin from working.

qz2 6y ago
This was a complete deal breaker for me. Half the internet is unusable without a decent ad blocking implementation these days and a decent one is virtually impossible with the charred remains of the API they left behind. This was actually one of the (many) things that motivated me to migrate away from OSX.
- jkelleyrtp 6y ago
  You're not going to find the same AdBlockers that Chrome/FF have, but you will find AdBlockers that _work_. I agree that ads make the web unusable, but I've been content with the various blockers I've tried on Safari, and there's more every day. I use ABP, but 1Blocker and Wipr look good, and Safari's got the first 30% of privacy/adblocking taken care of with their various privacy and reader features.
  - qz2 6y ago
    1Blocker is a rip off. Wipr doesn't work properly. ABP lets a lot of ads through. There is nothing that approaches uBlock at all.
    - tpush 6y ago
      > Wipr doesn't work properly. How does it not work properly? Been using it and am pretty satisfied so far.
    - therealmarv 6y ago
      try Adguard. It's the best one for this Apple interface for adblocking.
      - saagarjha 6y ago
        …which requires an Electron app to constantly be running for it to really work. Not great.
        aledthemathguy 6y ago
        why does it work like this in macos? (meaning - it seems to be running an outside process to block ads, unlike in Chrome where the process is internal to the browser, is this correct? as a windows user i was puzzled by this when installing adguard
        saagarjha 6y ago
        It doesn't, the Adguard developers just chose to write their app in such a way that their main app (which is an Electron app) needs to be in the loop for everything.
        mthoms 6y ago
        Actually it's true - Adguard needs to run as a standalone process that lives in the menu bar in order to work properly with Safari. This permanent process does appear to be Electron based. My guess is that it's engineered like this to simplify their code base(s) between their various free plugins and their paid "Adguard for Mac" and "Adguard for Windows" apps.
        twistiti 6y ago
        Untrue in my understanding. The Electron app needs to run to set options or to force filters update, not the rest of the time. It's still an annoyance but it's better than nothing.
        saagarjha 6y ago
        Changing the filters (e.g. by selecting a new element) requires the app to be running. Or, at least, it did when I stopped using it.
    - ucha 6y ago
      I'm using AdGuard and it covers pretty much everything and is very customizable, including the annoying "accept cookies" banners that we have in Europe.
    - srgpqt 6y ago
      No problems with Wipr here, at all..
    - xodice 6y ago
      Wipr works outstanding for me on both iOS and macOS.
      - qz2 6y ago
        Still get pop unders on both.
        r00fus 6y ago
        Where? I get 0 popus or popunders and I use wipr and no other adblockers.
        qz2 6y ago
        Try an average torrent site.
  - johns 6y ago
    Ghostery seems to work fine
    - konart 6y ago
      People jumped off Ghostery long time ago. Maybe things have changed since the whole Cliqz story
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- bredren 6y ago
  Consider setting up a pihole locally or on a vps.
  - josephcsible 6y ago
    This isn't that effective anymore. A lot of sites now proxy their ads through their own Web server for the express purpose of making them harder to block. The only way to effectively block these, without something horribly draconian like breaking TLS, is a browser extension.
    - reaperducer 6y ago
      for the express[ed] purpose This doesn't mean what you think it means. What you wrote means that web sites put text on their pages stating, "We're proxying our ads so you can't block them, nanny nanny boo boo!" You probably mean "specific" purpose. More to the point, this isn't new. We were doing this on web sites at least as far back as the early 2000's.
      - cshimmin 6y ago
        Uh, no GP's usage was fine. Take Collins dictionary: "If you refer to an express intention or purpose, you are emphasizing that it is a deliberate and specific one that you have before you do something". Perhaps you are thinking of the term "express written consent", but there it's the word "written" that means it was, well, written.
      - minitech 6y ago
        Yeah, I guess if you insert the incorrect [ed], it becomes incorrect.
    - bredren 6y ago
      I wonder if the newly enabled safari extension capabilities paired with pihole largely cover for what is missing from what Chrome can do.
  - spurgu 6y ago

qz2 6y ago

This was a complete deal breaker for me. Half the internet is unusable without a decent ad blocking implementation these days and a decent one is virtually impossible with the charred remains of the API they left behind. This was actually one of the (many) things that motivated me to migrate away from OSX.

jkelleyrtp 6y ago
You're not going to find the same AdBlockers that Chrome/FF have, but you will find AdBlockers that _work_. I agree that ads make the web unusable, but I've been content with the various blockers I've tried on Safari, and there's more every day. I use ABP, but 1Blocker and Wipr look good, and Safari's got the first 30% of privacy/adblocking taken care of with their various privacy and reader features.
- qz2 6y ago
  1Blocker is a rip off. Wipr doesn't work properly. ABP lets a lot of ads through. There is nothing that approaches uBlock at all.
  - tpush 6y ago
    > Wipr doesn't work properly. How does it not work properly? Been using it and am pretty satisfied so far.
  - therealmarv 6y ago
    try Adguard. It's the best one for this Apple interface for adblocking.
    - saagarjha 6y ago
      …which requires an Electron app to constantly be running for it to really work. Not great.
      - aledthemathguy 6y ago
        why does it work like this in macos? (meaning - it seems to be running an outside process to block ads, unlike in Chrome where the process is internal to the browser, is this correct? as a windows user i was puzzled by this when installing adguard
        saagarjha 6y ago
        It doesn't, the Adguard developers just chose to write their app in such a way that their main app (which is an Electron app) needs to be in the loop for everything.
        mthoms 6y ago
        Actually it's true - Adguard needs to run as a standalone process that lives in the menu bar in order to work properly with Safari. This permanent process does appear to be Electron based. My guess is that it's engineered like this to simplify their code base(s) between their various free plugins and their paid "Adguard for Mac" and "Adguard for Windows" apps.
      - twistiti 6y ago
        Untrue in my understanding. The Electron app needs to run to set options or to force filters update, not the rest of the time. It's still an annoyance but it's better than nothing.
        saagarjha 6y ago
        Changing the filters (e.g. by selecting a new element) requires the app to be running. Or, at least, it did when I stopped using it.
  - ucha 6y ago
    I'm using AdGuard and it covers pretty much everything and is very customizable, including the annoying "accept cookies" banners that we have in Europe.
  - srgpqt 6y ago
    No problems with Wipr here, at all..
  - xodice 6y ago
    Wipr works outstanding for me on both iOS and macOS.
    - qz2 6y ago
      Still get pop unders on both.
      - r00fus 6y ago
        Where? I get 0 popus or popunders and I use wipr and no other adblockers.
        qz2 6y ago
        Try an average torrent site.
- johns 6y ago
  Ghostery seems to work fine
  - konart 6y ago
    People jumped off Ghostery long time ago. Maybe things have changed since the whole Cliqz story
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
bredren 6y ago
Consider setting up a pihole locally or on a vps.
- josephcsible 6y ago
  This isn't that effective anymore. A lot of sites now proxy their ads through their own Web server for the express purpose of making them harder to block. The only way to effectively block these, without something horribly draconian like breaking TLS, is a browser extension.
  - reaperducer 6y ago
    for the express[ed] purpose This doesn't mean what you think it means. What you wrote means that web sites put text on their pages stating, "We're proxying our ads so you can't block them, nanny nanny boo boo!" You probably mean "specific" purpose. More to the point, this isn't new. We were doing this on web sites at least as far back as the early 2000's.
    - cshimmin 6y ago
      Uh, no GP's usage was fine. Take Collins dictionary: "If you refer to an express intention or purpose, you are emphasizing that it is a deliberate and specific one that you have before you do something". Perhaps you are thinking of the term "express written consent", but there it's the word "written" that means it was, well, written.
    - minitech 6y ago
      Yeah, I guess if you insert the incorrect [ed], it becomes incorrect.
  - bredren 6y ago
    I wonder if the newly enabled safari extension capabilities paired with pihole largely cover for what is missing from what Chrome can do.
- spurgu 6y ago