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I had quite a rude awakening when I switched to an iPhone recently. I had to adopt NextDNS for its domain-level ad blocking, but it’s amazing how many ads still

I had quite a rude awakening when I switched to an iPhone recently. I had to adopt NextDNS for its domain-level ad blocking, but it’s amazing how many ads still come through. I don’t know how people browse the web without any sort of ad blocking these days.

zuppy 5y ago
there are adblockers for ios too, for example here's a good one: https://1blocker.com https://1blocker.com
- bobbylarrybobby 5y ago
  Safari only though
- stephen_g 5y ago
  Yeah, I use 1blocker too, it's fairly good but annoying they only give you monthly rule updates (unless a major site breaks) unless you pay a subscription. Even when I bought the 'Pro' version, and then they changed to a subscription model... Still, it works pretty well. But how I wish it was possible to have uBlock Origin running in mobile Safari (and desktop Safari for that matter)...
  - pawsforapplase 5y ago
    They do have a one-time payment option of about $40. But in my experience, it simply does not work compared to other platforms. I still see a lot of ads even with their strictest settings, and it also seems to break a lot of sites without having any toggle switches in the browser UI. It's gotten to the point where I put the iPhone down and pick up another device if I need to access a website. After a few months, I'd like to just resell the phone. But on the social side of things, having a number with blue chat bubbles is a depressingly effective status symbol, and Apple is better about in-app tracking. It's getting hard to ignore how harmful the duopoly in phone operating systems is to consumers. Carrying two phones around is not a tenable solution.
    - vxNsr 5y ago
      Idk what you’re talking about or what sites you’re going to, I’ve never seen ads using the default 1blocker settings. I use DNSCloak to block ads in other apps. It’s obv not as good as an element blocker but it’s great for when I need to use chrome or some random store app that inserts ads.
- mullingitover 5y ago
  Ehh, I'm a pretty die-hard iOS person but ad blocking on iOS is a steaming pile of BS, to put it mildly. They flat-out don't work for 99% of ads. They're not ad blockers, they're domain filters, nothing more than a big hosts file, and they block absolutely nothing at the page/element level. The ad industry runs circles around 'ad blockers' on iOS. The lack of functioning ad blocking is by far the biggest downside to iOS, and the same reason that I pity the engineers who put all that work on desktop Safari only to have it rendered worthless by their lack of ad blocking.
  - aikinai 5y ago
    > They're not ad blockers, they're domain filters, nothing more than a big hosts file, and they block absolutely nothing at the page/element level. I don't think this is true. I use 1Blocker and it seems to have tons of element-based rules. You can also create your own element-based rules easily with the Safari share extension. You tap the element you want to remove, tap buttons to go up or down the DOM to make sure you hit the right level, and then add it to your blocklist.
  - evgen 5y ago
    Simply not true. I have been using Firefox Focus and 1Blocker on iOS for years and ads are not significantly more noticeable than on desktop Firefox with uBlock Origin. I think you quite misinformed on this subject.
    - Marsymars 5y ago
      It depends on your level of blocking. I use 1Blocker and uBlock Origin, and find maximum blocking with 1Blocker to be roughly equivalent in blocking to the default "Easy mode" in uBlock Origin. "Medium mode" (combined with a few additional lists, e.g. cookie nag lists) in uBlock Origin blocks dramatically more crud.
  - vxNsr 5y ago
    1Blocker is amazing and absolutely isn’t just a domain blocker. I’d check it out if I were you.
jjbinx007 5y ago
I've been thinking of screen recording some web browsing on my desktop and phone without an ad blocker just to record for posterity how truly awful the modem web is without an ad blocker. I can't even read most news websites these days because the ads are so utterly distracting and awful.
aikinai 5y ago
iPhone has supported ad-blocking for six years.
- pbhjpbhj 5y ago
  Sounds like they need to work on their UX then because if people here aren't getting it working then it seems likely that most of their users aren't able to. Is it a default installed plugin in Safari?
  - aikinai 5y ago
    I think the only way anyone would not find it would be assuming it doesn't exist. If you search on the web, App Store, iPhone search box, etc. you'll find it right away. And the answer is, it's not installed by default, but there are a variety of third-party plugins available in the App Store.
    - pawsforapplase 5y ago
      I spent days trying to set up effective ad blocking on iOS. There is a firehouse of options in the app store, but you need to sift through conflicting reports about which ones are "still good" - the prevailing recommendations seemed to change every 6 months or so when I researched which ones to try. When you do find some that seem worthwhile, the paid tiers are often expensive, and they will not work as well as the free browser extensions on every other platform. And there is no replacement for NoScript at any price.
- RussianCow 5y ago
  I tried a few of the top "content blockers" from the App Store and none of them worked very well (at least the free versions), so I gave up and assumed it just wasn't feasible. I can't imagine I'm the only one with the same experience. I'll revisit this based on your comment and others in this thread.
bozzcl 5y ago
I'm using a combo of AdGuard and MalwareBytes on Safari, and Pi-Hole via Wireguard and my browsing experience has been pretty smooth.
asdff 5y ago
I've pretty much stopped browsing the web on my iPhone at all. The mobile web is broken. With all the banner ads and videos popping up, My 6 inch long phone is reduced to about 1 inch of readable text. It's like the 2000s again with the adspam, or maybe its always been like this and I've just been using an ad blocker this entire time.

zuppy 5y ago

there are adblockers for ios too, for example here's a good one: https://1blocker.com https://1blocker.com

bobbylarrybobby 5y ago
Safari only though
stephen_g 5y ago
Yeah, I use 1blocker too, it's fairly good but annoying they only give you monthly rule updates (unless a major site breaks) unless you pay a subscription. Even when I bought the 'Pro' version, and then they changed to a subscription model... Still, it works pretty well. But how I wish it was possible to have uBlock Origin running in mobile Safari (and desktop Safari for that matter)...
- pawsforapplase 5y ago
  They do have a one-time payment option of about $40. But in my experience, it simply does not work compared to other platforms. I still see a lot of ads even with their strictest settings, and it also seems to break a lot of sites without having any toggle switches in the browser UI. It's gotten to the point where I put the iPhone down and pick up another device if I need to access a website. After a few months, I'd like to just resell the phone. But on the social side of things, having a number with blue chat bubbles is a depressingly effective status symbol, and Apple is better about in-app tracking. It's getting hard to ignore how harmful the duopoly in phone operating systems is to consumers. Carrying two phones around is not a tenable solution.
  - vxNsr 5y ago
    Idk what you’re talking about or what sites you’re going to, I’ve never seen ads using the default 1blocker settings. I use DNSCloak to block ads in other apps. It’s obv not as good as an element blocker but it’s great for when I need to use chrome or some random store app that inserts ads.
mullingitover 5y ago
Ehh, I'm a pretty die-hard iOS person but ad blocking on iOS is a steaming pile of BS, to put it mildly. They flat-out don't work for 99% of ads. They're not ad blockers, they're domain filters, nothing more than a big hosts file, and they block absolutely nothing at the page/element level. The ad industry runs circles around 'ad blockers' on iOS. The lack of functioning ad blocking is by far the biggest downside to iOS, and the same reason that I pity the engineers who put all that work on desktop Safari only to have it rendered worthless by their lack of ad blocking.
- aikinai 5y ago
  > They're not ad blockers, they're domain filters, nothing more than a big hosts file, and they block absolutely nothing at the page/element level. I don't think this is true. I use 1Blocker and it seems to have tons of element-based rules. You can also create your own element-based rules easily with the Safari share extension. You tap the element you want to remove, tap buttons to go up or down the DOM to make sure you hit the right level, and then add it to your blocklist.
- evgen 5y ago
  Simply not true. I have been using Firefox Focus and 1Blocker on iOS for years and ads are not significantly more noticeable than on desktop Firefox with uBlock Origin. I think you quite misinformed on this subject.
  - Marsymars 5y ago
    It depends on your level of blocking. I use 1Blocker and uBlock Origin, and find maximum blocking with 1Blocker to be roughly equivalent in blocking to the default "Easy mode" in uBlock Origin. "Medium mode" (combined with a few additional lists, e.g. cookie nag lists) in uBlock Origin blocks dramatically more crud.
- vxNsr 5y ago
  1Blocker is amazing and absolutely isn’t just a domain blocker. I’d check it out if I were you.

jjbinx007 5y ago

I've been thinking of screen recording some web browsing on my desktop and phone without an ad blocker just to record for posterity how truly awful the modem web is without an ad blocker. I can't even read most news websites these days because the ads are so utterly distracting and awful.

aikinai 5y ago

iPhone has supported ad-blocking for six years.

pbhjpbhj 5y ago
Sounds like they need to work on their UX then because if people here aren't getting it working then it seems likely that most of their users aren't able to. Is it a default installed plugin in Safari?
- aikinai 5y ago
  I think the only way anyone would not find it would be assuming it doesn't exist. If you search on the web, App Store, iPhone search box, etc. you'll find it right away. And the answer is, it's not installed by default, but there are a variety of third-party plugins available in the App Store.
  - pawsforapplase 5y ago
    I spent days trying to set up effective ad blocking on iOS. There is a firehouse of options in the app store, but you need to sift through conflicting reports about which ones are "still good" - the prevailing recommendations seemed to change every 6 months or so when I researched which ones to try. When you do find some that seem worthwhile, the paid tiers are often expensive, and they will not work as well as the free browser extensions on every other platform. And there is no replacement for NoScript at any price.
RussianCow 5y ago
I tried a few of the top "content blockers" from the App Store and none of them worked very well (at least the free versions), so I gave up and assumed it just wasn't feasible. I can't imagine I'm the only one with the same experience. I'll revisit this based on your comment and others in this thread.

bozzcl 5y ago

I'm using a combo of AdGuard and MalwareBytes on Safari, and Pi-Hole via Wireguard and my browsing experience has been pretty smooth.

asdff 5y ago

I've pretty much stopped browsing the web on my iPhone at all. The mobile web is broken. With all the banner ads and videos popping up, My 6 inch long phone is reduced to about 1 inch of readable text. It's like the 2000s again with the adspam, or maybe its always been like this and I've just been using an ad blocker this entire time.