3 ms·

I hate ads as much as the next person. But we've already had examples of ad-blocking companies doing deals with advertisers to whitelist URLs and I simply don'

I hate ads as much as the next person. But we've already had examples of ad-blocking companies doing deals with advertisers to whitelist URLs and I simply don't trust them not to on-sell my browser history. So you may criticise Apple for their position but I would rather have a 90% effective ad-blocker and a guarantee that my privacy is intact. With so much data reselling going on it's simply not worth the risk.

cowtools 4y ago
>But we've already had examples of ad-blocking companies doing deals with advertisers to whitelist URLs and I simply don't trust them not to on-sell my browser history. Huh? uBlock Origin is a free/open source project.
- threeseed 4y ago
  Apple is not specifically blocking uBlock Origin. They are blocking ANY extension from being a MITM and accessing traffic/URLs.
  - ajvs 4y ago
    Which prevents powerful privacy-enhancing open-source extensions like uBlock Origin, LibRedirect and Redirector from existing on iOS.
    - BoorishBears 4y ago
      And so you get back to the original point above... > So you may criticize Apple for their position but I would rather have a 90% effective ad-blocker and a guarantee that my privacy is intact. With so much data reselling going on it's simply not worth the risk.
    - iasay 4y ago
      It also prevents the 90% case of nasty page replacement plugins and data theft extensions which are extremely common on other platforms.
      - cowtools 4y ago
        Luckily, 100% of those malware plugins can already be avoided by voluntarily choosing to not install them. This isn't a decision for apple or any other manufacturer to make. If you need an authority figure to babysit you while you use a computer then you shouldn't be using a computer in the first place, you should be in a nursing home.
        iasay 4y ago
        This is selection bias. Clearly you’ve never met an average computer user then. Malicious web pages force extensions on you which users do install.
        ajvs 4y ago
        uBlock Origin is exactly the type of extension which blocks these malicious webpages.
        iasay 4y ago
        Not really https://portswigger.net/research/ublock-i-exfiltrate-exploiting-ad-blockers-with-css https://portswigger.net/research/ublock-i-exfiltrate-exploit...
      - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
        it is a weird country that where people are scared that their data is at the mercy of an open source completely auditable browser extension, that adults have the choice to install or not install upon inspection, and oppose to it, but when it's about real threats that actually kill people (including kids) nothing gets done in the name of "freedom of choice" and against "baby sitting by the government"...
        iasay 4y ago
        Not scared of those extensions. The malicious web sites that force you to install malicious extensions are the problem. The average user isn’t immune to those problems. I’ve cleaned out enough extension infested chrome browsers in my time…
    - threeseed 4y ago
      Those extensions can exist on iOS perfectly fine. They just need to agree to work without needing me to supply them the content of every web page I visit and every URL I click. Apologies for putting my privacy first.
      - ajvs 4y ago
        You do realise uBlock Origin doesn't send the URLs you visit to anyone and it's open source so you can even check this yourself?
zyuiop 4y ago
Yeah but the point of this discussion is that _Apple doesn't even give you the choice here._ If you want to do it this way, please do, but this is not a reason to prevent other people from doing things differently.
- dwighttk 4y ago
  Apple does give you the choice: Go buy Android.
SllX 4y ago
> But we've already had examples of ad-blocking companies doing deals with advertisers to whitelist URLs and I simply don't trust them not to on-sell my browser history. As I recall, uBlock Origin originated as a direct response to ad-blockers engaging in exactly this behavior. Content blockers are nice, but I’m going to have to agree they are necessary but insufficient on my phone. uBlock Origin as it exists in say Firefox is pretty much exactly what I want and I’d be able to probably uninstall every other ad-blocking extension. I appreciate that Apple tried this approach initially but it’s time to change course and allow more powerful ad-blockers to also exist.

cowtools 4y ago

>But we've already had examples of ad-blocking companies doing deals with advertisers to whitelist URLs and I simply don't trust them not to on-sell my browser history. Huh? uBlock Origin is a free/open source project.

threeseed 4y ago
Apple is not specifically blocking uBlock Origin. They are blocking ANY extension from being a MITM and accessing traffic/URLs.
- ajvs 4y ago
  Which prevents powerful privacy-enhancing open-source extensions like uBlock Origin, LibRedirect and Redirector from existing on iOS.
  - BoorishBears 4y ago
    And so you get back to the original point above... > So you may criticize Apple for their position but I would rather have a 90% effective ad-blocker and a guarantee that my privacy is intact. With so much data reselling going on it's simply not worth the risk.
  - iasay 4y ago
    It also prevents the 90% case of nasty page replacement plugins and data theft extensions which are extremely common on other platforms.
    - cowtools 4y ago
      Luckily, 100% of those malware plugins can already be avoided by voluntarily choosing to not install them. This isn't a decision for apple or any other manufacturer to make. If you need an authority figure to babysit you while you use a computer then you shouldn't be using a computer in the first place, you should be in a nursing home.
      - iasay 4y ago
        This is selection bias. Clearly you’ve never met an average computer user then. Malicious web pages force extensions on you which users do install.
        ajvs 4y ago
        uBlock Origin is exactly the type of extension which blocks these malicious webpages.
        iasay 4y ago
        Not really https://portswigger.net/research/ublock-i-exfiltrate-exploiting-ad-blockers-with-css https://portswigger.net/research/ublock-i-exfiltrate-exploit...
    - peoplefromibiza 4y ago
      it is a weird country that where people are scared that their data is at the mercy of an open source completely auditable browser extension, that adults have the choice to install or not install upon inspection, and oppose to it, but when it's about real threats that actually kill people (including kids) nothing gets done in the name of "freedom of choice" and against "baby sitting by the government"...
      - iasay 4y ago
        Not scared of those extensions. The malicious web sites that force you to install malicious extensions are the problem. The average user isn’t immune to those problems. I’ve cleaned out enough extension infested chrome browsers in my time…
  - threeseed 4y ago
    Those extensions can exist on iOS perfectly fine. They just need to agree to work without needing me to supply them the content of every web page I visit and every URL I click. Apologies for putting my privacy first.
    - ajvs 4y ago
      You do realise uBlock Origin doesn't send the URLs you visit to anyone and it's open source so you can even check this yourself?

zyuiop 4y ago

Yeah but the point of this discussion is that _Apple doesn't even give you the choice here._ If you want to do it this way, please do, but this is not a reason to prevent other people from doing things differently.

dwighttk 4y ago
Apple does give you the choice: Go buy Android.

SllX 4y ago

> But we've already had examples of ad-blocking companies doing deals with advertisers to whitelist URLs and I simply don't trust them not to on-sell my browser history. As I recall, uBlock Origin originated as a direct response to ad-blockers engaging in exactly this behavior. Content blockers are nice, but I’m going to have to agree they are necessary but insufficient on my phone. uBlock Origin as it exists in say Firefox is pretty much exactly what I want and I’d be able to probably uninstall every other ad-blocking extension. I appreciate that Apple tried this approach initially but it’s time to change course and allow more powerful ad-blockers to also exist.