21 ms·

uBlock Origin Lite now available for Safari

1156 points by Jiahang 1y ago

deanc 1y ago
uBlock origin (full version) works quite nicely on Orion Browser, which is safari under the hood but supports FF extensions and chrome extensions.
poisonwomb 1y ago
To get on topic, this works a hell of a lot better than 1blocker has been for me. Is this using a different API?
JoeriBe 1y ago
This app is currently not available in your country or region.
- yapyap 1y ago
  For me as well
- donohoe 1y ago
  … and you are in what country/region?
  - whstl 1y ago
    Germany/Europe, not available for me.
    - mrcarrot 1y ago
      Also not available in Austria
  - mobilio 1y ago
    Bulgaria/Europe - also not available
- owenmcfadzen 1y ago
  For me as well
- kumekay 1y ago
  Not available in Czechia/EU
  - comrade1234 1y ago
    I'm in CH and it's available to me but I can never remember if I'm set to the Swiss store or the USA store... Ok, just looked and I think I'm on the Swiss store. Well, at least you guys get the option of adding non-apple app stores while we do not.
  - Squarex 1y ago
    Can confirm. I hope that they enable it before the Testflight build expires.
- Philpax 1y ago
  Sweden/Europe, same
- morphle 1y ago
  Not available in the Netherlands/Europe.
  - chronogamous 1y ago
    Had no problem finding and downloading it from the AppStore; then again, it's been ten hours since you posted, so maybe it has only just popped up in the last couple of hours for people in the Netherlands.
    - morphle 1y ago
      Yep, indeed. It now downloads in the Apps store for The Netherlands
- eliseumds 1y ago
  Same, not available in Spain.
- yashasolutions 1y ago
  The beauty of Apple. As if there’s any actual technical limitation in distributing a binary over the internet.
  - AnonHP 1y ago
    The developer chooses which countries to make their app/extension available. Apple doesn't make the decision.
    - bigyabai 1y ago
      That's not a feature I'm required to use on Android, MacOS, Windows or Linux. If it's not Apple's decision to enforce it then I wonder who would degrade the experience like that?
- wazoox 1y ago
  Neither in France.
  - cocoto 1y ago
    Seems to be available now but it was not some hours before.
- messe 1y ago
  Unavailable here in Denmark too.
  - messe 1y ago
    Too late to edit the above, but it seems to be available now.
- smarx007 1y ago
  From @gorhill himself: https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/358#issuecomment-3155012748 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/358#issueco... Let's wait a bit
  - lapcat 1y ago
    App Store developers have to declare whether or not they're a "trader" in the EU, so that might be the issue. https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=einwn76m https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=einwn76m
    - smarx007 1y ago
      I think you were spot on. Should be fixed now.
- arational 1y ago
  You can use the Testflight version.
uallo 1y ago
Non-Chinese version: https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698
- mouselett 1y ago
  Thank you for the link. Can some moderator please update the link? Thanks in advance.
  - bartvk 1y ago
    Update the link to what?
    - mouselett 1y ago
      I meant to the one in the reply, but it looks like someone already did.
- Cadwhisker 1y ago
  I got the Australian one by replacing `cn` with `au` in the link. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/au/app/ublock-origin-lite/id674534269...
  - HelloUsername 1y ago
    You can share it simply as https://apps.apple.com/app/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/app/id6745342698, no region required
- tomhow 1y ago
  Updated, thanks!
kovariantenkak 1y ago
From the permissions in Safari: > Web Page Contents and Browsing History - Can read and alter sensitive information on web pages, including passwords, phone numbers and credit cards, and see your browsing history on the current tab's web page when you use the extension. What does it mean for me to use the extension? Am I using it if it is installed?
- donohoe 1y ago
  Installation is the first step, then you must enable it. If you go to safari settings and enable it there, then you are using it.
  - kovariantenkak 1y ago
    And then am I using it if I'm loading the extension by interacting with it? Because simply enabling it will not give it access to the webpage.
    - throawayonthe 1y ago
      loading a page will
  - digikazi 1y ago
    Bizarrely when I do that it tells me “uBO Lite is not supported by this version of Safari”. On an iPhone 13 with the latest version of iOS. I’m very new to the Apple ecosystem so it could well be that it’s meant to work on a laptop/desktop rather than the mobile version. I could of course be wrong: does anybody know better? Or is it a case of me being frazzled after work? EDIT: some users have suggested upgrading to iOS 18.6 solves this problem. Doing it as we speak!
- dialup_sounds 1y ago
  Reading and altering content on web pages is the purpose of the extension.
  - 1y ago
frou_dh 1y ago
I've been puzzled reading previous discussions about Safari where people acted as if it doesn't have good ad-blocking, just because the brand name extension they're familiar with wasn't available. There has been very good ad-blocking available on Safari for a long time (both macOS and iOS) using for example AdGuard.
- Squarex 1y ago
  For privacy aware people it can be important that an open source and well trusted extension is available.
  - broeng 1y ago
    It's been possible for about a decade to use Firefox Focus as a Content Blocker for Safari. I assume it's open source, "well trusted" is of course subjective.
    - nozzlegear 1y ago
      Firefox Focus doesn't exist on Mac, though.
  - lotsofpulp 1y ago
    I thought the whole point of iOS and macOS content blockers is that it does not have to be trusted, since there is never any data flowing out, only a list of blocked IP addresses that the operating system refers to (like a windows hosts (file).
- skydhash 1y ago
  Adblocking as links bloking can be sufficient, but sometimes you need to bring the big guns and alter the page content itself. Safari has even "Hide distracting elements" now, which can not be an extension. That cements the idea that most uBlock Origin features should be part of the browser to make it a wonderful user agent.
  - broeng 1y ago
TheSilva 1y ago
I have been using the version published in Testflight for quite a while now and I must say I haven't seen much difference from my previous setup (Firefox Focus configured as the ad blocking provider in Safari settings) But, given their record on providing excellent software and features, I am so happy to switch to them and to see what they are capable of in the future!
- fhd2 1y ago
  Content blockers on iOS are severely limited compared to what's possible with powerful extension mechanisms (Firefox, Chrome before Manifest V3) or built-in ad blockers (Brave). So there's not really differentiation on a technical level, which is where uBlock Origin was always strong. On these other platforms, there was a lot of innovation going on when I was in the space (2020), especially against sites that actively try to circumvent ad blockers. On iOS, there's not much that can be done. At least unless I missed some major developments. As for the lists of resources to block and DOM elements to hide - which is by and large all an iOS ad blocker is - most just use the popular ones like EasyList with a few additions. uBlock Origin has a good track record of maintaining additional filters, so I think there's reason to believe it'll work better than most. But all in all, for these two reasons, you probably won't notice much of a difference between different ad blockers on iOS.
tux 1y ago
Requires iOS 18.0+ sadly older iOS not supported :-(
comrade1234 1y ago
iOS 18.5 safari can't use it. I swear I was successfully using the beta. Guess I'll try upgrading to iOS 18.6.
- comrade1234 1y ago
  Ok, updated and can be activated on iOS 18.6 safari.
- Featherknight 1y ago
  It’s was working on 18.5 during the beta but gorhill mentioned broken sites and content blocking due to a Safari bug. That is fixed in Safari 18.6, which requires iOS 18.6 https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-notes/safari-18_6-release-notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-not...
tomalpha 1y ago
I just searched within the (edit: iOS App Store) App Store app for ublock origin lite “ublock origin lite” For the unquoted search, there are twelve different apps/items returned above it - you really have to scroll down to find it at number 13. Even for the quoted search, it’s returned in fourth place. More interestingly the second time I searched with quoted it’s in third place, and the third time of searching the sponsored items at the top is getting even more random.
- Meekro 1y ago
  Working fine for me-- when I search under Mac Apps for "ublock origin lite" (no quotes), it appears in 1st place.
  - tomalpha 1y ago
    Sorry, I should have been clearer. I too get the same for Mac apps, but for iOS apps still see the same competitor results returned first. For me, that's the same whether I use the App Store from my phone, or laptop.
  - mort96 1y ago
    For me, searching for "uBlock origin lite" (without the quotes) puts it in 3rd place; below AdBlock Pro and an ad for trip(dot)com. When I search "uBlock origin" it doesn't seem to show up at all.
- whstl 1y ago
  Apple is really bad at search, and on purpose. Welp, money before quality!
  - cedws 1y ago
    Nah I think they’re just bad at search, macOS Spotlight search has to be the most slow janky search I have ever used.
    - DrewADesign 1y ago
SanjayMehta 1y ago
Installs, but trying to enable in Safari throws an error: “Unable to load uBlock Origin Lite.”
- kaladin_1 1y ago
  Update iOS to 18.6
  - SanjayMehta 1y ago
    Done and done. Strange it doesn’t have a message yet about the ios version requirement.
rckt 1y ago
I'm a long-time user of Wipr. Does the job perfectly.
- thijsvandien 1y ago
  Generally it works well, but what's particularly annoying is that it hides cookie walls, resulting in non-functional websites until I disable content blockers, close the dialog and re-enable them. Not sure if uBlock does any better, though.
  - ron_k 1y ago
    This is my only complaint. Most of the websites work fine, but others get stuck. I don’t know if Wipr 2 solved the issue.
    - jraph 1y ago
      We occasionally have this with the actual full uBlock Origin on Firefox as well. I don't think there's a general solution for this issue. Content blockers need to provide a workaround for each situation, if at all possible. At least it's possible to contribute to uBlock Origin's filters.
  - layer8 1y ago
    Ghostery does the same, but has more fine-grained per-website controls. You can for example turn off just the consent-popup-blocker function for a website while keeping the anti-tracking ad-blocking functions.
  - carlosjobim 1y ago
    Use a bookmarklet to sweep sticky elements for those situation. Not ideal, but works fine.
    - kstrauser 1y ago
      Use Safari’s own built-in “Hide Distracting Items”. It’s also pretty good at hiding the few remaining “disable your ad blocker to continue” popups Wipr doesn’t yet catch.
v7engine 1y ago
I don't know if it is working, because sometimes, I see Google Adsense ads on Wordle site.
forgotoldacc 1y ago
I've been using Adguard for a couple years and have had no problems. I think I've only seen ads slip through a couple times. If there's anyone who's able to compare, is there any real difference between these ad blockers?
- encom 1y ago
  It's been a few years since I've used an Iphone, but back then I used AdGuard. It wasn't terrible, but I encountered frequent breakage, and updating it (rules) was miserable and slow. The generally awful and sad state of web browing on IOS was a big reason why I switched to Android.
- kaladin_1 1y ago
  Thanks for asking this. I have always had Adguard on iOS with no issues wondering if there is any extra benefit to switching to uBlock Origin Lite on Safari.
- saw-lau 1y ago
  Just adding another alternative that I've been using for years for people to consider - 1Blocker. https://1blocker.com/ https://1blocker.com/
  - SanjayMehta 1y ago
    1Blocker is worth the one time lifetime purchase, works with your family iCloud+ account.
    - DASD 1y ago
      This and Little Snitch Mini.
- nottorp 1y ago
  Commercial offerings can always slip towards allowing some ads for pay. Maybe not today, but there's no guarantee the company won't get sold tomorrow. Not to mention that your AdGuard seems to be one of the 10 billion apps that competes for my subscriptions budget.
MortyWaves 1y ago
So I tapped the link on my iPhone and was taken to the App Store. The download button is available. Great! Finally I can block ads in mobile too. It installs, opening it is a simple message saying I need to enable it in Safari settings. Strange, but ok. I go to Settings -> Safari -> Extensions -> uBlock Origin Lite. > “uBO Lite” is not available for this version of Safari. This feels like a series of failures, why is it available for download on iPhone if it doesn’t work at all? Is iOS Safari really that different to Mac Safari?
- cm2187 1y ago
  Update your iphone and it will work
  - isodev 1y ago
    The whole point of going iPhone is not to have to deal with these kinds of situations.
    - idle_zealot 1y ago
      Bad news: these kinds of situations are inevitable. You've abdicated control of your digital life for a comforting lie
    - antihero 1y ago
      The whole point of using an iPhone is that you don't have to update it?
      - josefx 1y ago
        Choice and platform fragmentation in one neat bundle. I am almost surprised that Apple doesn't just force updates on everyone when it is possible just to maintain that additional bit of uniformity and conformity for its "think different" crowd.
      - isodev 1y ago
        No, the App Store allowing you to download an app with an extension target that doesn’t match the current system. At the very least there should be a warning or a button to update iOS if that’s possible on the current device.
sometimes_all 1y ago
Gave it a try; works better than expected. Has the custom filter tool (similar to element picker in main Origin), so I can block out the Linkedin Feed and other pestilence that Wipr couldn't tackle. Thanks a million to gorhill!
operator-name 1y ago
Just tested it out on iOS. It’s scored 94% against Adguard’s 79% on this test page: https://adblock.turtlecute.org/ https://adblock.turtlecute.org/
- dmd 1y ago
  Wipr2 gets 100.
- patentatt 1y ago
  Must depend on your block lists, I get a 98% using AdGuard on iOS. I'm using easy list, easy privacy, fanboy annoyances and social filters, and hagezi's light dns filter. I'm a big fan of ublock but I don't see much issue with AdGuard for now.
- microtonal 1y ago
  Wipr 2 scores 100%
- Asmod4n 1y ago
  I’m getting different results for it with every reload, is that normal? Ranges form 56-96%
- dizhn 1y ago
  It says on the page that ublock origin breaks the results. Now that might be the full firefox version but in my test with Firefox the result was 1 blocked on the page but 125 on the extensions own notification.
- gorhill 1y ago
  Those webpages used to "test" blockers are frowned upon, see: https://x.com/gorhill/status/1583581072197312512 https://x.com/gorhill/status/1583581072197312512 There are many reasons that sort of online tools are not able to reliably test a content blocker: - Many content blockers are designed to fool pages to think no content blocker is installed - Content blockers filter according to real, actual cases, not synthetic cases used in their tests
  - 1y ago
vouaobrasil 1y ago
Nice. Although there are content blockers for the iPhone, uBLock is the best. One of the worst aspects of iOS is that content blockers for it generally suck, and the web sucks without them.
mottiden 1y ago
is this ad blocker the best?
freehorse 1y ago
If anybody is interested, the original (not lite) firefox-version of uBlock Origin works just well in Orion (webkit based browser by kagi) in both iPhone and Mac. It is great to have it for safari though anyway as safari is the default browser in these platforms.
- bkienzle3 1y ago
  I've been using this browser for several months now. I think it's the best option if you want access the addons that are available in Firefox for Android. However, the browser is definitely still beta. I often encounter bugs, mostly with tab behavior. These are still pretty manageable though, and worth the tradeoff to me.
- jeffhuys 1y ago
  I love, LOVE Orion. Use it both on iPhone and Mac. However, lately, it's becoming more and more buggy and sluggish. Writing this in Orion though - just have to quit it a few times a day to battle the RAM consumption and sluggishness. So yeah, like the other person says: DEFINETELY still beta. And yes, I report the issues.
  - alephnerd 1y ago
    Do you have a significant number of tabs opened? I've noticed a similar issue and my hunch is it was due to "tab rot".
    - Shank 1y ago
      I’ve found this to be the case, but I absolutely do not consider this acceptable. It’s just uncontrolled memory use. I also experience this on Safari though, so I suspect it’s a WebKit issue.
  - freehorse 1y ago
    Yeah, I am mainly using firefox on desktop, but orion on the phone because this is the only way to get extensions on ios. I do have crashes once in a while in certain websites. It is annoying, but, for me personally, being able to use certain extensions (ublock, dark reader etc) makes it worth the occasional crash.
tobyhinloopen 1y ago
Why is it region-locked? So weird
- SG- 1y ago
  because the person shared the link from the US App Store instead of using the global link: https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 for all app stores.
  - tobyhinloopen 1y ago
    Thank you!
auc 1y ago
This doesn’t work on my iPhone 16 Edit: after upgrading the software, it works
HSO 1y ago
"This app is currently not available in your country or region." :(
fsflover 1y ago
A friendly reminder that uBlock Origin Lite can't protect you from modern ad tracking. Consider using Firefox with the original version on desktop and support the EU pushing Apple to allow alternative browser engines on iOS. More details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBlock_Origin#uBlock_Origin_Lite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBlock_Origin#uBlock_Origin_Li... https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/wiki/Frequently-asked-questions-(FAQ)#filtering-capabilities-which-cant-be-ported-to-mv3 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/wiki/Frequently-as...
resource_waste 1y ago
Thats the one thing about Apple products. You get all the features of SOTA but 5-6 years after its already been in use.
lencastre 1y ago
Not available in all euro regions
eviks 1y ago
Great news! You unfortunately can't add custom filters/cosmetic rules since this is the Lite version, rigth?
Trattue 1y ago
Looking forward to try it once it becomes available in my region. Although I wish I could just use extensions on iOS Firefox… Or at least have a way to sync my bookmarks between Firefox and Safari.
AnonHP 1y ago
Tangential: Anyone here using Magic Lasso? I can't stomach the idea of subscribing to an ad blocker for about 30 dollars each year and have wondered what it provides compared to others. I've been using Firefox Focus (it has an content blocker too), AdGuard and NextDNS (which is flaky because I don't want to have a profile and instead use the long abandoned app, whose toggle doesn't work many a times [tested by visiting test.nextdns.io]). For system wide tracker blocking, I use Lockdown Privacy (the free option).
jwr 1y ago
The title is false, because "This app is currently not available in your country or region. "
meindnoch 1y ago
"This app is currently not available in your country or region."
prrar 1y ago
Switched from Wipr 2 on my iOS/macOS instantly. Thanks!
- kstrauser 1y ago
  How come? Wipr 2 is going a good job for me. Why might I prefer uBO?
  - xorshift 1y ago
    I haven't installed it but I might only because I can't disable Wipr 2 for some sites that I want/need. uBO Lite can do this. Other than that, I really like Wipr 2 and other apps by Kaylee.
    - kstrauser 1y ago
      Hmm, you should be able to, with instructions at https://kaylees.site/wipr-help.html#how-do-i-disable-wipr https://kaylees.site/wipr-help.html#how-do-i-disable-wipr (Not trying to talk you out of it. I have no dog in the hunt; use whatever you like. Just helping an Internet peer troubleshoot, as is my wont.)
singpolyma3 1y ago
Doesn't work on iOS
- augustk 1y ago
  After installation you need to enable it in Settings -> Apps -> Safari -> Extensions -> uBlock Origin Lite. I also uninstalled my previous advertising blocker AdBlock Pro by selecting "Delete App" in Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage -> AdBlock Pro.
  - singpolyma3 1y ago
    Yes I tried that before I commented. It just says "not supported by this version of safari"
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
hakunin 1y ago
Weird, it's installed but it won't let me enable it in Safari. The "enable" checkbox is inactive. Safari 18.5 on MacOS Sequoia 15.5. Restarting the browser, and reinstalling the extension has no effect.
- hknws2023saio 1y ago
  same here, on Sequoia 15.5 (24F74)
- hakunin 1y ago
  Solution: update to Sequoia 15.6 (which comes with Safari 18.6) and it works.
  - hknws2023saio 1y ago
    this worked, thank you
  - ndkap 1y ago
    This makes me think that UBO Lite wasnt possible without something Apple added in the latest version. Is this true? Did they finally add something to Safari allowing UBO Lite to finally be made? Is that why UBO Lite for Safari didnt exist until now?
    - SG- 1y ago
      it did work but there was some bugs that they were waiting on the update to fix for them.
    - Featherknight 1y ago
      declarativeNetRequest was broken. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-notes/safari-18_6-release-notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-not...
nelox 1y ago
I tried the beta. UBOlite interfered with Safari’s native hide distracting items. The UI was unintuitive for setting features. Performance seemed slower than Ghostery. I’m sticking with Ghostery, which has none of those issues, until UBOlite matures.
rock_artist 1y ago
Maybe I’m missing something, on latest macOS 15.6 it seems to be working but on my iPadOS 26 latest dev release it shows as installed but no settings. and it doesn’t ask for each website.
bittercynic 1y ago
Anyone know if there's a possibility this will be available in older versions of iOS? I'm very reluctant to update my iPhone. It's working well right now, and it seems just about impossible to roll back an update if it breaks something important.
- Shank 1y ago
  What will it break? You can stay out of date but you’re more vulnerable to security vulnerabilities and less stuff works.
kamatour 1y ago
Funny how ‘Improved Search’ really means ‘Good luck finding anything unless we get paid.’
chakintosh 1y ago
uBO was the only reason I switched from Safari to Firefox. Might make the switch back now.
ge96 1y ago
History channel aliens guy: "is such a thing possible?"
nntwozz 1y ago
Just became available for me in Sweden, other European countries should follow.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
quantum_mech 1y ago
I installed the app on my iPad iOS 18.5, then tried to enable the extension in Safari. (Settings -> Apps -> Safari -> Extensions). Result: "uBo Lite" is not supported by this version of Safari"
- 58028641 1y ago
  You need to update to 18.6 for this to work
- eckelhesten 1y ago
  Yup, same thing here. Gonna try on my Mac soon. Will keep us updated.
  - Featherknight 1y ago
    Update to iOS 18.6, new minimum for iOS. MacOS 13.7 is the minimum on Mac
- jhhh 1y ago
  Am I stupid or is there no way to actually get to the configure Safari page from within Safari? Like any other program in existence would do.
cromka 1y ago
I switched to Brave about 2 months ago and never looked back. The speed difference is astonishing, just mind-blowing. I was always convinced that Safari was the fastest on macOS. And mind you that I did use an adblock with Safari as well (AdGuard for mac).
diebeforei485 1y ago
Doesn't Safari block trackers already?
- saagarjha 1y ago
  Yes, but not ads.
jer0me 1y ago
When I try to turn it on in Safari (iOS 18.5) I get: Unable To Load “uBlock Origin Lite”
- amoeba 1y ago
  Same issue on macOS with Safari 18.5. I think it might require a newer version (18.6), see https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/405 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/405.
- SG- 1y ago
  so update it?
tekawade 1y ago
I moved from Chrome to Firefox for this. And found out Firefox is much better browser than Chrome anyway. Moved due to post here as well. Can’t find the post easily to link here for credit.
- OrangeMusic 1y ago
  Wanted to move to Firefox, but it doesn't have "save page as app". Huge blocker for me unfortunately (as I categorically refuse to have GMail in one of my many tabs of one of my many browser windows).
imagetic 1y ago
Thank you.
badosu 1y ago
I don't understand why someone, with some technical education, would use any chromium based browser instead of firefox, any ideas?
- lulzury 1y ago
  That’s a pretty limited way of looking at the world: “Why would someone only do x instead of y?” Part of learning to understand others means developing cognitive flexibility.
  - badosu 1y ago
    It would be limited if it _literally_ wasn't a question, right? I'm opening myself to understand things. I don't understand the combativeness.
    - carlosjobim 1y ago
      I'll answer your question: 100% of web browser users do not care about which underlying engine the web browser is built on. And when they care about their web browser at all, they care about features and functionality.
  - throwawaylaptop 1y ago
    Ever since covid, I playfully ask people if they can guess why a lot of COVID non believers stocked up on toilet paper and food at the beginning of the lockdown. Of course many say "they somehow thought it wouldn't be available later stupidly!" But I look past that one, and ask for possibly other reasons. I have asked probably 100 people at this point. Not a SINGLE person has said "in case they were wrong about the virus, and it was actually dangerous, they wouldn't want to leave their house to go get stuff" That was the reason my family bought. And some of my anti COVID friends. And no one has guessed that. And they almost can't believe it or understand it. And this is coming from people who took the virus seriously, but apparently didn't think ahead to not have to leave their house for basic dry goods?
- gkoberger 1y ago
SoftTalker 1y ago
I don't understand why Safari (and any browser) does not include ad blocking out of the box, ideally enabled by default but at least an option. Nobody like ads. Especially ads that take over a majority of your screen space and seem to fight efforts to close them (moving, slow response to tapping "X", etc.) Ads are just a cancer on the web. If a site can only exist by ad revenue then it should not exist. Block them all.
- digianarchist 1y ago
  Probably an anti-trust issue given their relationship with Google. https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23933206/google-apple-search-deal-safari-18-billion https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23933206/google-apple-se...
tamimio 1y ago
“Ubo isn’t supported in this version of safari” -iOS 18.5
- SG- 1y ago
  so update it?
- Featherknight 1y ago
  Requires fixes in iOS 18.6 for Safari
mproud 1y ago
I’ve been using Ka-Block! (Bonus points for being inspired by Star Trek Klingon?)
alliao 1y ago
i've resisted iOS 18 for so long.. Project Indigo was really tempting...but this might just be the thing pushed me to update to iOS 18....
LAC-Tech 1y ago
Finally IOS users can experience what I do on my cheap android phones where I've been playing youtube ad-free on firefox mobile for about a decade.
- robertoandred 1y ago
  Do you think uBlock is the only ad blocker? Safari on iOS has had ad blockers for ten years.
- ezfe 1y ago
  iOS has had adblockers that work with YouTube for years...uBlock origin is good but it's not the only one
concinds 1y ago
People should be way more upset at the fact that Safari adblocking today is still inferior to even MV3 Google Chrome. Apple's implementation of declarativeNetRequest was semi-broken until the very latest iOS 18.6. Apple can do the bare minimum, years after everyone else, and barely get called out. The Reality Distortion Field is the enemy. Also funny that other devs had the gall to make people pay (sometimes subscriptions!) for Safari adblockers inferior to the free adblockers on any other browser.
- kccqzy 1y ago
  I agree with you regarding how Apple can do the bare minimum and barely get called out. But the fact is, I don't know of anything who's using declarativeNetRequest on Safari. The ecosystem of Safari blocking is centered around the legacy technology of content blockers from 2015. And the legacy technology works well enough that there's no pressure for either Apple or adblocker developers to adopt the new thing.
  - radicaldreamer 1y ago
    The legacy technology is also privacy-protecting in the sense that normal ad-blocking on iOS doesn’t use any third party JS filtering or reading of data on the page. It breaks down because there are a ton of workarounds sites and ad-networks implement so it’s not super effective compared to MV2 ublock-origin
    - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
      The privacy aspect is big. Even if content blocker extensions technically aren’t as capable, they were nice because they could be installed with impunity regardless of the party responsible for developing them. It’s a tradeoff. In practice I’ve found them to be largely effective except for the most awful sites that I should probably be finding alernatives to instead of using (vote with your eyeballs), which is something I do even where “real” uBlock Origin is an option.
    - kccqzy 1y ago
      Yeah but we are comparing that against MV3 uBlock Origin Lite which is the subject of this article. They are the same in terms of privacy protection.
EasyMark 1y ago
I get the best of all worlds by using Orion, I can use uBlock Origin (the Firefox version) and also get WebKit which Safari uses. Orion seemed unstable for me, but I gave it another shot a couple of months ago, and it has been as stable as Safari for me. Glad to hear someone gave Safari another AdBlock alternative though, the more, the merrier.
- MarcelOlsz 1y ago
  How do you find Orion for web development (if you do any of that)?
  - EasyMark 1y ago
    Sorry I don't do any web dev, I only do firmware/uefi/bios
- nicce 1y ago
  I don’t know. I have tried to use Orion for long time but it has too many bugs. I try it like few times week. Also, this extension seems to work better than uBlock in Origin.
outerspace 1y ago
On the settings page of the extension, I got a popup to allow "ib.adnxs.com" access to browsing data. What is this?
- ethan_smith 1y ago
  ib.adnxs.com is AppNexus/Xandr's ad network domain. This popup likely appears when the extension detects the domain trying to access your data and is prompting you whether to block it, not requesting permission for itself.
- lapcat 1y ago
  I suspect it's this bug: https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=295336 https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=295336
throwawaylaptop 1y ago
Is there any reason people don't use Brave browser, when it seems it has great ad blocking built in and working great?
- SG- 1y ago
  Safari is faster and uses less battery/power.
seam_carver 1y ago
Works excellent, better than Adguard for me. I didn't change any default settings in either.
tekawade 1y ago
Duckduckgo browser is highly rated than Firefox in Apple Store. Has anyone tried it? Is it really better than Firefox? Unfortunately apply doesn’t allow ublock in Firefox like android. PS this comment is with reference to Apple Store and policies discussion in one of the threads
jhhh 1y ago
Using an ipad on the internet is so incomprehensibly bad without adblocking that I just don't even use it for normal browsing. The problem is I would rather use a website instead of an app because at least I can adblock the website (sans pihole or something). It was actually making me consider going back to an android tablet but here is a potential solution. Except it is not supported for my version of Safari (for now?). Awesome.
system2 1y ago
Just like that, I ditched the Chrome app on iPhone right now. This is great news.
wafriedemann 1y ago
seems to work very well in my tests on some tough websites. finally one reason less to switch to android.
VignuB 1y ago
Great to know that we have the option to use uBOL on Safari. uBO is arguably the best adblocker on Firefox (and on Chromium browsers still on manifest v2.) Not to be a downer, but why should I use this over existing well performing content blockers like Wipr 2 or Adguard? But yes, I get it more the options for us users the merrier!
mywrathacademia 1y ago
Ublock origin light has been available on ipados for 4 years. Why is it now a big deal?
- lapcat 1y ago
  uBlock Origin Lite has existed for only 2 years. https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/releases?page=13 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/releases?page=13
JKCalhoun 1y ago
Unfortunately, I installed uBlock Origin Lite but it shows up disabled in Safari (MacOS). I have latest OS and Safari (MacBook Pro, Nov. 2023). Console shows: 'Private sandbox for net.raymondhill.uBlock-Origin-Lite.Extension : <none>' I've tried a number of things to reset Safari but still no luck.
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  The latest MacOS software update (just installed this morning) ... somehow addressed it.
roda73 1y ago
I didn't know macos was a relevant operating system in 2025. Everything apple does just brings the OS closer to the grave. But hey now they have adblocking, it only took how many decades? lol

1156 points by Jiahang 1y ago

uBlock origin (full version) works quite nicely on Orion Browser, which is safari under the hood but supports FF extensions and chrome extensions.

poisonwomb 1y ago

To get on topic, this works a hell of a lot better than 1blocker has been for me. Is this using a different API?

JoeriBe 1y ago

This app is currently not available in your country or region.

yapyap 1y ago
For me as well
donohoe 1y ago
… and you are in what country/region?
- whstl 1y ago
  Germany/Europe, not available for me.
  - mrcarrot 1y ago
    Also not available in Austria
- mobilio 1y ago
  Bulgaria/Europe - also not available
owenmcfadzen 1y ago
For me as well
kumekay 1y ago
Not available in Czechia/EU
- comrade1234 1y ago
  I'm in CH and it's available to me but I can never remember if I'm set to the Swiss store or the USA store... Ok, just looked and I think I'm on the Swiss store. Well, at least you guys get the option of adding non-apple app stores while we do not.
- Squarex 1y ago
  Can confirm. I hope that they enable it before the Testflight build expires.
Philpax 1y ago
Sweden/Europe, same
morphle 1y ago
Not available in the Netherlands/Europe.
- chronogamous 1y ago
  Had no problem finding and downloading it from the AppStore; then again, it's been ten hours since you posted, so maybe it has only just popped up in the last couple of hours for people in the Netherlands.
  - morphle 1y ago
    Yep, indeed. It now downloads in the Apps store for The Netherlands
eliseumds 1y ago
Same, not available in Spain.
yashasolutions 1y ago
The beauty of Apple. As if there’s any actual technical limitation in distributing a binary over the internet.
- AnonHP 1y ago
  The developer chooses which countries to make their app/extension available. Apple doesn't make the decision.
  - bigyabai 1y ago
    That's not a feature I'm required to use on Android, MacOS, Windows or Linux. If it's not Apple's decision to enforce it then I wonder who would degrade the experience like that?
wazoox 1y ago
Neither in France.
- cocoto 1y ago
  Seems to be available now but it was not some hours before.
messe 1y ago
Unavailable here in Denmark too.
- messe 1y ago
  Too late to edit the above, but it seems to be available now.
smarx007 1y ago
From @gorhill himself: https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/358#issuecomment-3155012748 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/358#issueco... Let's wait a bit
- lapcat 1y ago
  App Store developers have to declare whether or not they're a "trader" in the EU, so that might be the issue. https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=einwn76m https://developer.apple.com/news/?id=einwn76m
  - smarx007 1y ago
    I think you were spot on. Should be fixed now.
arational 1y ago
You can use the Testflight version.

uallo 1y ago

Non-Chinese version: https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698

mouselett 1y ago
Thank you for the link. Can some moderator please update the link? Thanks in advance.
- bartvk 1y ago
  Update the link to what?
  - mouselett 1y ago
    I meant to the one in the reply, but it looks like someone already did.
Cadwhisker 1y ago
I got the Australian one by replacing `cn` with `au` in the link. https://apps.apple.com/au/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/au/app/ublock-origin-lite/id674534269...
- HelloUsername 1y ago
  You can share it simply as https://apps.apple.com/app/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/app/id6745342698, no region required
tomhow 1y ago
Updated, thanks!

kovariantenkak 1y ago

From the permissions in Safari: > Web Page Contents and Browsing History - Can read and alter sensitive information on web pages, including passwords, phone numbers and credit cards, and see your browsing history on the current tab's web page when you use the extension. What does it mean for me to use the extension? Am I using it if it is installed?

donohoe 1y ago
Installation is the first step, then you must enable it. If you go to safari settings and enable it there, then you are using it.
- kovariantenkak 1y ago
  And then am I using it if I'm loading the extension by interacting with it? Because simply enabling it will not give it access to the webpage.
  - throawayonthe 1y ago
    loading a page will
- digikazi 1y ago
  Bizarrely when I do that it tells me “uBO Lite is not supported by this version of Safari”. On an iPhone 13 with the latest version of iOS. I’m very new to the Apple ecosystem so it could well be that it’s meant to work on a laptop/desktop rather than the mobile version. I could of course be wrong: does anybody know better? Or is it a case of me being frazzled after work? EDIT: some users have suggested upgrading to iOS 18.6 solves this problem. Doing it as we speak!
dialup_sounds 1y ago
Reading and altering content on web pages is the purpose of the extension.
- 1y ago

frou_dh 1y ago

I've been puzzled reading previous discussions about Safari where people acted as if it doesn't have good ad-blocking, just because the brand name extension they're familiar with wasn't available. There has been very good ad-blocking available on Safari for a long time (both macOS and iOS) using for example AdGuard.

Squarex 1y ago
For privacy aware people it can be important that an open source and well trusted extension is available.
- broeng 1y ago
  It's been possible for about a decade to use Firefox Focus as a Content Blocker for Safari. I assume it's open source, "well trusted" is of course subjective.
  - nozzlegear 1y ago
    Firefox Focus doesn't exist on Mac, though.
- lotsofpulp 1y ago
  I thought the whole point of iOS and macOS content blockers is that it does not have to be trusted, since there is never any data flowing out, only a list of blocked IP addresses that the operating system refers to (like a windows hosts (file).
skydhash 1y ago
Adblocking as links bloking can be sufficient, but sometimes you need to bring the big guns and alter the page content itself. Safari has even "Hide distracting elements" now, which can not be an extension. That cements the idea that most uBlock Origin features should be part of the browser to make it a wonderful user agent.
- broeng 1y ago

TheSilva 1y ago

I have been using the version published in Testflight for quite a while now and I must say I haven't seen much difference from my previous setup (Firefox Focus configured as the ad blocking provider in Safari settings) But, given their record on providing excellent software and features, I am so happy to switch to them and to see what they are capable of in the future!

fhd2 1y ago
Content blockers on iOS are severely limited compared to what's possible with powerful extension mechanisms (Firefox, Chrome before Manifest V3) or built-in ad blockers (Brave). So there's not really differentiation on a technical level, which is where uBlock Origin was always strong. On these other platforms, there was a lot of innovation going on when I was in the space (2020), especially against sites that actively try to circumvent ad blockers. On iOS, there's not much that can be done. At least unless I missed some major developments. As for the lists of resources to block and DOM elements to hide - which is by and large all an iOS ad blocker is - most just use the popular ones like EasyList with a few additions. uBlock Origin has a good track record of maintaining additional filters, so I think there's reason to believe it'll work better than most. But all in all, for these two reasons, you probably won't notice much of a difference between different ad blockers on iOS.

tux 1y ago

Requires iOS 18.0+ sadly older iOS not supported :-(

comrade1234 1y ago

iOS 18.5 safari can't use it. I swear I was successfully using the beta. Guess I'll try upgrading to iOS 18.6.

comrade1234 1y ago
Ok, updated and can be activated on iOS 18.6 safari.
Featherknight 1y ago
It’s was working on 18.5 during the beta but gorhill mentioned broken sites and content blocking due to a Safari bug. That is fixed in Safari 18.6, which requires iOS 18.6 https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-notes/safari-18_6-release-notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-not...

tomalpha 1y ago

I just searched within the (edit: iOS App Store) App Store app for ublock origin lite “ublock origin lite” For the unquoted search, there are twelve different apps/items returned above it - you really have to scroll down to find it at number 13. Even for the quoted search, it’s returned in fourth place. More interestingly the second time I searched with quoted it’s in third place, and the third time of searching the sponsored items at the top is getting even more random.

Meekro 1y ago
Working fine for me-- when I search under Mac Apps for "ublock origin lite" (no quotes), it appears in 1st place.
- tomalpha 1y ago
  Sorry, I should have been clearer. I too get the same for Mac apps, but for iOS apps still see the same competitor results returned first. For me, that's the same whether I use the App Store from my phone, or laptop.
- mort96 1y ago
  For me, searching for "uBlock origin lite" (without the quotes) puts it in 3rd place; below AdBlock Pro and an ad for trip(dot)com. When I search "uBlock origin" it doesn't seem to show up at all.
whstl 1y ago
Apple is really bad at search, and on purpose. Welp, money before quality!
- cedws 1y ago
  Nah I think they’re just bad at search, macOS Spotlight search has to be the most slow janky search I have ever used.
  - DrewADesign 1y ago

SanjayMehta 1y ago

Installs, but trying to enable in Safari throws an error: “Unable to load uBlock Origin Lite.”

kaladin_1 1y ago
Update iOS to 18.6
- SanjayMehta 1y ago
  Done and done. Strange it doesn’t have a message yet about the ios version requirement.

rckt 1y ago

I'm a long-time user of Wipr. Does the job perfectly.

thijsvandien 1y ago
Generally it works well, but what's particularly annoying is that it hides cookie walls, resulting in non-functional websites until I disable content blockers, close the dialog and re-enable them. Not sure if uBlock does any better, though.
- ron_k 1y ago
  This is my only complaint. Most of the websites work fine, but others get stuck. I don’t know if Wipr 2 solved the issue.
  - jraph 1y ago
    We occasionally have this with the actual full uBlock Origin on Firefox as well. I don't think there's a general solution for this issue. Content blockers need to provide a workaround for each situation, if at all possible. At least it's possible to contribute to uBlock Origin's filters.
- layer8 1y ago
  Ghostery does the same, but has more fine-grained per-website controls. You can for example turn off just the consent-popup-blocker function for a website while keeping the anti-tracking ad-blocking functions.
- carlosjobim 1y ago
  Use a bookmarklet to sweep sticky elements for those situation. Not ideal, but works fine.
  - kstrauser 1y ago
    Use Safari’s own built-in “Hide Distracting Items”. It’s also pretty good at hiding the few remaining “disable your ad blocker to continue” popups Wipr doesn’t yet catch.

v7engine 1y ago

I don't know if it is working, because sometimes, I see Google Adsense ads on Wordle site.

forgotoldacc 1y ago

I've been using Adguard for a couple years and have had no problems. I think I've only seen ads slip through a couple times. If there's anyone who's able to compare, is there any real difference between these ad blockers?

encom 1y ago
It's been a few years since I've used an Iphone, but back then I used AdGuard. It wasn't terrible, but I encountered frequent breakage, and updating it (rules) was miserable and slow. The generally awful and sad state of web browing on IOS was a big reason why I switched to Android.
kaladin_1 1y ago
Thanks for asking this. I have always had Adguard on iOS with no issues wondering if there is any extra benefit to switching to uBlock Origin Lite on Safari.
saw-lau 1y ago
Just adding another alternative that I've been using for years for people to consider - 1Blocker. https://1blocker.com/ https://1blocker.com/
- SanjayMehta 1y ago
  1Blocker is worth the one time lifetime purchase, works with your family iCloud+ account.
  - DASD 1y ago
    This and Little Snitch Mini.
nottorp 1y ago
Commercial offerings can always slip towards allowing some ads for pay. Maybe not today, but there's no guarantee the company won't get sold tomorrow. Not to mention that your AdGuard seems to be one of the 10 billion apps that competes for my subscriptions budget.

MortyWaves 1y ago

So I tapped the link on my iPhone and was taken to the App Store. The download button is available. Great! Finally I can block ads in mobile too. It installs, opening it is a simple message saying I need to enable it in Safari settings. Strange, but ok. I go to Settings -> Safari -> Extensions -> uBlock Origin Lite. > “uBO Lite” is not available for this version of Safari. This feels like a series of failures, why is it available for download on iPhone if it doesn’t work at all? Is iOS Safari really that different to Mac Safari?

cm2187 1y ago
Update your iphone and it will work
- isodev 1y ago
  The whole point of going iPhone is not to have to deal with these kinds of situations.
  - idle_zealot 1y ago
    Bad news: these kinds of situations are inevitable. You've abdicated control of your digital life for a comforting lie
  - antihero 1y ago
    The whole point of using an iPhone is that you don't have to update it?
    - josefx 1y ago
      Choice and platform fragmentation in one neat bundle. I am almost surprised that Apple doesn't just force updates on everyone when it is possible just to maintain that additional bit of uniformity and conformity for its "think different" crowd.
    - isodev 1y ago
      No, the App Store allowing you to download an app with an extension target that doesn’t match the current system. At the very least there should be a warning or a button to update iOS if that’s possible on the current device.

sometimes_all 1y ago

Gave it a try; works better than expected. Has the custom filter tool (similar to element picker in main Origin), so I can block out the Linkedin Feed and other pestilence that Wipr couldn't tackle. Thanks a million to gorhill!

operator-name 1y ago

Just tested it out on iOS. It’s scored 94% against Adguard’s 79% on this test page: https://adblock.turtlecute.org/ https://adblock.turtlecute.org/

dmd 1y ago
Wipr2 gets 100.
patentatt 1y ago
Must depend on your block lists, I get a 98% using AdGuard on iOS. I'm using easy list, easy privacy, fanboy annoyances and social filters, and hagezi's light dns filter. I'm a big fan of ublock but I don't see much issue with AdGuard for now.
microtonal 1y ago
Wipr 2 scores 100%
Asmod4n 1y ago
I’m getting different results for it with every reload, is that normal? Ranges form 56-96%
dizhn 1y ago
It says on the page that ublock origin breaks the results. Now that might be the full firefox version but in my test with Firefox the result was 1 blocked on the page but 125 on the extensions own notification.
gorhill 1y ago
Those webpages used to "test" blockers are frowned upon, see: https://x.com/gorhill/status/1583581072197312512 https://x.com/gorhill/status/1583581072197312512 There are many reasons that sort of online tools are not able to reliably test a content blocker: - Many content blockers are designed to fool pages to think no content blocker is installed - Content blockers filter according to real, actual cases, not synthetic cases used in their tests
- 1y ago

vouaobrasil 1y ago

Nice. Although there are content blockers for the iPhone, uBLock is the best. One of the worst aspects of iOS is that content blockers for it generally suck, and the web sucks without them.

mottiden 1y ago

is this ad blocker the best?

freehorse 1y ago

If anybody is interested, the original (not lite) firefox-version of uBlock Origin works just well in Orion (webkit based browser by kagi) in both iPhone and Mac. It is great to have it for safari though anyway as safari is the default browser in these platforms.

bkienzle3 1y ago
I've been using this browser for several months now. I think it's the best option if you want access the addons that are available in Firefox for Android. However, the browser is definitely still beta. I often encounter bugs, mostly with tab behavior. These are still pretty manageable though, and worth the tradeoff to me.
jeffhuys 1y ago
I love, LOVE Orion. Use it both on iPhone and Mac. However, lately, it's becoming more and more buggy and sluggish. Writing this in Orion though - just have to quit it a few times a day to battle the RAM consumption and sluggishness. So yeah, like the other person says: DEFINETELY still beta. And yes, I report the issues.
- alephnerd 1y ago
  Do you have a significant number of tabs opened? I've noticed a similar issue and my hunch is it was due to "tab rot".
  - Shank 1y ago
    I’ve found this to be the case, but I absolutely do not consider this acceptable. It’s just uncontrolled memory use. I also experience this on Safari though, so I suspect it’s a WebKit issue.
- freehorse 1y ago
  Yeah, I am mainly using firefox on desktop, but orion on the phone because this is the only way to get extensions on ios. I do have crashes once in a while in certain websites. It is annoying, but, for me personally, being able to use certain extensions (ublock, dark reader etc) makes it worth the occasional crash.

tobyhinloopen 1y ago

Why is it region-locked? So weird

SG- 1y ago
because the person shared the link from the US App Store instead of using the global link: https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 https://apps.apple.com/app/ublock-origin-lite/id6745342698 for all app stores.
- tobyhinloopen 1y ago
  Thank you!

auc 1y ago

This doesn’t work on my iPhone 16 Edit: after upgrading the software, it works

HSO 1y ago

"This app is currently not available in your country or region." :(

fsflover 1y ago

A friendly reminder that uBlock Origin Lite can't protect you from modern ad tracking. Consider using Firefox with the original version on desktop and support the EU pushing Apple to allow alternative browser engines on iOS. More details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBlock_Origin#uBlock_Origin_Lite https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UBlock_Origin#uBlock_Origin_Li... https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/wiki/Frequently-asked-questions-(FAQ)#filtering-capabilities-which-cant-be-ported-to-mv3 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/wiki/Frequently-as...

resource_waste 1y ago

Thats the one thing about Apple products. You get all the features of SOTA but 5-6 years after its already been in use.

lencastre 1y ago

Not available in all euro regions

eviks 1y ago

Great news! You unfortunately can't add custom filters/cosmetic rules since this is the Lite version, rigth?

Trattue 1y ago

Looking forward to try it once it becomes available in my region. Although I wish I could just use extensions on iOS Firefox… Or at least have a way to sync my bookmarks between Firefox and Safari.

AnonHP 1y ago

Tangential: Anyone here using Magic Lasso? I can't stomach the idea of subscribing to an ad blocker for about 30 dollars each year and have wondered what it provides compared to others. I've been using Firefox Focus (it has an content blocker too), AdGuard and NextDNS (which is flaky because I don't want to have a profile and instead use the long abandoned app, whose toggle doesn't work many a times [tested by visiting test.nextdns.io]). For system wide tracker blocking, I use Lockdown Privacy (the free option).

jwr 1y ago

The title is false, because "This app is currently not available in your country or region. "

meindnoch 1y ago

"This app is currently not available in your country or region."

prrar 1y ago

Switched from Wipr 2 on my iOS/macOS instantly. Thanks!

kstrauser 1y ago
How come? Wipr 2 is going a good job for me. Why might I prefer uBO?
- xorshift 1y ago
  I haven't installed it but I might only because I can't disable Wipr 2 for some sites that I want/need. uBO Lite can do this. Other than that, I really like Wipr 2 and other apps by Kaylee.
  - kstrauser 1y ago
    Hmm, you should be able to, with instructions at https://kaylees.site/wipr-help.html#how-do-i-disable-wipr https://kaylees.site/wipr-help.html#how-do-i-disable-wipr (Not trying to talk you out of it. I have no dog in the hunt; use whatever you like. Just helping an Internet peer troubleshoot, as is my wont.)

singpolyma3 1y ago

Doesn't work on iOS

augustk 1y ago
After installation you need to enable it in Settings -> Apps -> Safari -> Extensions -> uBlock Origin Lite. I also uninstalled my previous advertising blocker AdBlock Pro by selecting "Delete App" in Settings -> General -> iPhone Storage -> AdBlock Pro.
- singpolyma3 1y ago
  Yes I tried that before I commented. It just says "not supported by this version of safari"

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

hakunin 1y ago

Weird, it's installed but it won't let me enable it in Safari. The "enable" checkbox is inactive. Safari 18.5 on MacOS Sequoia 15.5. Restarting the browser, and reinstalling the extension has no effect.

hknws2023saio 1y ago
same here, on Sequoia 15.5 (24F74)
hakunin 1y ago
Solution: update to Sequoia 15.6 (which comes with Safari 18.6) and it works.
- hknws2023saio 1y ago
  this worked, thank you
- ndkap 1y ago
  This makes me think that UBO Lite wasnt possible without something Apple added in the latest version. Is this true? Did they finally add something to Safari allowing UBO Lite to finally be made? Is that why UBO Lite for Safari didnt exist until now?
  - SG- 1y ago
    it did work but there was some bugs that they were waiting on the update to fix for them.
  - Featherknight 1y ago
    declarativeNetRequest was broken. https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-notes/safari-18_6-release-notes https://developer.apple.com/documentation/safari-release-not...

nelox 1y ago

I tried the beta. UBOlite interfered with Safari’s native hide distracting items. The UI was unintuitive for setting features. Performance seemed slower than Ghostery. I’m sticking with Ghostery, which has none of those issues, until UBOlite matures.

rock_artist 1y ago

Maybe I’m missing something, on latest macOS 15.6 it seems to be working but on my iPadOS 26 latest dev release it shows as installed but no settings. and it doesn’t ask for each website.

bittercynic 1y ago

Anyone know if there's a possibility this will be available in older versions of iOS? I'm very reluctant to update my iPhone. It's working well right now, and it seems just about impossible to roll back an update if it breaks something important.

Shank 1y ago
What will it break? You can stay out of date but you’re more vulnerable to security vulnerabilities and less stuff works.

kamatour 1y ago

Funny how ‘Improved Search’ really means ‘Good luck finding anything unless we get paid.’

chakintosh 1y ago

uBO was the only reason I switched from Safari to Firefox. Might make the switch back now.

ge96 1y ago

History channel aliens guy: "is such a thing possible?"

nntwozz 1y ago

Just became available for me in Sweden, other European countries should follow.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

quantum_mech 1y ago

I installed the app on my iPad iOS 18.5, then tried to enable the extension in Safari. (Settings -> Apps -> Safari -> Extensions). Result: "uBo Lite" is not supported by this version of Safari"

58028641 1y ago
You need to update to 18.6 for this to work
eckelhesten 1y ago
Yup, same thing here. Gonna try on my Mac soon. Will keep us updated.
- Featherknight 1y ago
  Update to iOS 18.6, new minimum for iOS. MacOS 13.7 is the minimum on Mac
jhhh 1y ago
Am I stupid or is there no way to actually get to the configure Safari page from within Safari? Like any other program in existence would do.

cromka 1y ago

I switched to Brave about 2 months ago and never looked back. The speed difference is astonishing, just mind-blowing. I was always convinced that Safari was the fastest on macOS. And mind you that I did use an adblock with Safari as well (AdGuard for mac).

diebeforei485 1y ago

Doesn't Safari block trackers already?

saagarjha 1y ago
Yes, but not ads.

jer0me 1y ago

When I try to turn it on in Safari (iOS 18.5) I get: Unable To Load “uBlock Origin Lite”

amoeba 1y ago
Same issue on macOS with Safari 18.5. I think it might require a newer version (18.6), see https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/405 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/issues/405.
SG- 1y ago
so update it?

tekawade 1y ago

I moved from Chrome to Firefox for this. And found out Firefox is much better browser than Chrome anyway. Moved due to post here as well. Can’t find the post easily to link here for credit.

OrangeMusic 1y ago
Wanted to move to Firefox, but it doesn't have "save page as app". Huge blocker for me unfortunately (as I categorically refuse to have GMail in one of my many tabs of one of my many browser windows).

imagetic 1y ago

Thank you.

badosu 1y ago

I don't understand why someone, with some technical education, would use any chromium based browser instead of firefox, any ideas?

lulzury 1y ago
That’s a pretty limited way of looking at the world: “Why would someone only do x instead of y?” Part of learning to understand others means developing cognitive flexibility.
- badosu 1y ago
  It would be limited if it _literally_ wasn't a question, right? I'm opening myself to understand things. I don't understand the combativeness.
  - carlosjobim 1y ago
    I'll answer your question: 100% of web browser users do not care about which underlying engine the web browser is built on. And when they care about their web browser at all, they care about features and functionality.
- throwawaylaptop 1y ago
  Ever since covid, I playfully ask people if they can guess why a lot of COVID non believers stocked up on toilet paper and food at the beginning of the lockdown. Of course many say "they somehow thought it wouldn't be available later stupidly!" But I look past that one, and ask for possibly other reasons. I have asked probably 100 people at this point. Not a SINGLE person has said "in case they were wrong about the virus, and it was actually dangerous, they wouldn't want to leave their house to go get stuff" That was the reason my family bought. And some of my anti COVID friends. And no one has guessed that. And they almost can't believe it or understand it. And this is coming from people who took the virus seriously, but apparently didn't think ahead to not have to leave their house for basic dry goods?
gkoberger 1y ago

SoftTalker 1y ago

I don't understand why Safari (and any browser) does not include ad blocking out of the box, ideally enabled by default but at least an option. Nobody like ads. Especially ads that take over a majority of your screen space and seem to fight efforts to close them (moving, slow response to tapping "X", etc.) Ads are just a cancer on the web. If a site can only exist by ad revenue then it should not exist. Block them all.

digianarchist 1y ago
Probably an anti-trust issue given their relationship with Google. https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23933206/google-apple-search-deal-safari-18-billion https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/26/23933206/google-apple-se...

tamimio 1y ago

“Ubo isn’t supported in this version of safari” -iOS 18.5

SG- 1y ago
so update it?
Featherknight 1y ago
Requires fixes in iOS 18.6 for Safari

mproud 1y ago

I’ve been using Ka-Block! (Bonus points for being inspired by Star Trek Klingon?)

alliao 1y ago

i've resisted iOS 18 for so long.. Project Indigo was really tempting...but this might just be the thing pushed me to update to iOS 18....

LAC-Tech 1y ago

Finally IOS users can experience what I do on my cheap android phones where I've been playing youtube ad-free on firefox mobile for about a decade.

robertoandred 1y ago
Do you think uBlock is the only ad blocker? Safari on iOS has had ad blockers for ten years.
ezfe 1y ago
iOS has had adblockers that work with YouTube for years...uBlock origin is good but it's not the only one

concinds 1y ago

People should be way more upset at the fact that Safari adblocking today is still inferior to even MV3 Google Chrome. Apple's implementation of declarativeNetRequest was semi-broken until the very latest iOS 18.6. Apple can do the bare minimum, years after everyone else, and barely get called out. The Reality Distortion Field is the enemy. Also funny that other devs had the gall to make people pay (sometimes subscriptions!) for Safari adblockers inferior to the free adblockers on any other browser.

kccqzy 1y ago
I agree with you regarding how Apple can do the bare minimum and barely get called out. But the fact is, I don't know of anything who's using declarativeNetRequest on Safari. The ecosystem of Safari blocking is centered around the legacy technology of content blockers from 2015. And the legacy technology works well enough that there's no pressure for either Apple or adblocker developers to adopt the new thing.
- radicaldreamer 1y ago
  The legacy technology is also privacy-protecting in the sense that normal ad-blocking on iOS doesn’t use any third party JS filtering or reading of data on the page. It breaks down because there are a ton of workarounds sites and ad-networks implement so it’s not super effective compared to MV2 ublock-origin
  - cosmic_cheese 1y ago
    The privacy aspect is big. Even if content blocker extensions technically aren’t as capable, they were nice because they could be installed with impunity regardless of the party responsible for developing them. It’s a tradeoff. In practice I’ve found them to be largely effective except for the most awful sites that I should probably be finding alernatives to instead of using (vote with your eyeballs), which is something I do even where “real” uBlock Origin is an option.
  - kccqzy 1y ago
    Yeah but we are comparing that against MV3 uBlock Origin Lite which is the subject of this article. They are the same in terms of privacy protection.

EasyMark 1y ago

I get the best of all worlds by using Orion, I can use uBlock Origin (the Firefox version) and also get WebKit which Safari uses. Orion seemed unstable for me, but I gave it another shot a couple of months ago, and it has been as stable as Safari for me. Glad to hear someone gave Safari another AdBlock alternative though, the more, the merrier.

MarcelOlsz 1y ago
How do you find Orion for web development (if you do any of that)?
- EasyMark 1y ago
  Sorry I don't do any web dev, I only do firmware/uefi/bios
nicce 1y ago
I don’t know. I have tried to use Orion for long time but it has too many bugs. I try it like few times week. Also, this extension seems to work better than uBlock in Origin.

outerspace 1y ago

On the settings page of the extension, I got a popup to allow "ib.adnxs.com" access to browsing data. What is this?

ethan_smith 1y ago
ib.adnxs.com is AppNexus/Xandr's ad network domain. This popup likely appears when the extension detects the domain trying to access your data and is prompting you whether to block it, not requesting permission for itself.
lapcat 1y ago
I suspect it's this bug: https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=295336 https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=295336

throwawaylaptop 1y ago

Is there any reason people don't use Brave browser, when it seems it has great ad blocking built in and working great?

SG- 1y ago
Safari is faster and uses less battery/power.

seam_carver 1y ago

Works excellent, better than Adguard for me. I didn't change any default settings in either.

tekawade 1y ago

Duckduckgo browser is highly rated than Firefox in Apple Store. Has anyone tried it? Is it really better than Firefox? Unfortunately apply doesn’t allow ublock in Firefox like android. PS this comment is with reference to Apple Store and policies discussion in one of the threads

jhhh 1y ago

Using an ipad on the internet is so incomprehensibly bad without adblocking that I just don't even use it for normal browsing. The problem is I would rather use a website instead of an app because at least I can adblock the website (sans pihole or something). It was actually making me consider going back to an android tablet but here is a potential solution. Except it is not supported for my version of Safari (for now?). Awesome.

system2 1y ago

Just like that, I ditched the Chrome app on iPhone right now. This is great news.

wafriedemann 1y ago

seems to work very well in my tests on some tough websites. finally one reason less to switch to android.

VignuB 1y ago

Great to know that we have the option to use uBOL on Safari. uBO is arguably the best adblocker on Firefox (and on Chromium browsers still on manifest v2.) Not to be a downer, but why should I use this over existing well performing content blockers like Wipr 2 or Adguard? But yes, I get it more the options for us users the merrier!

mywrathacademia 1y ago

Ublock origin light has been available on ipados for 4 years. Why is it now a big deal?

lapcat 1y ago
uBlock Origin Lite has existed for only 2 years. https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/releases?page=13 https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home/releases?page=13

JKCalhoun 1y ago

Unfortunately, I installed uBlock Origin Lite but it shows up disabled in Safari (MacOS). I have latest OS and Safari (MacBook Pro, Nov. 2023). Console shows: 'Private sandbox for net.raymondhill.uBlock-Origin-Lite.Extension : <none>' I've tried a number of things to reset Safari but still no luck.

JKCalhoun 1y ago
The latest MacOS software update (just installed this morning) ... somehow addressed it.

roda73 1y ago

I didn't know macos was a relevant operating system in 2025. Everything apple does just brings the OS closer to the grave. But hey now they have adblocking, it only took how many decades? lol