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Can it block YouTube ads? Would be a killer feature.

by cedws 25d ago

overflowy 25d ago
Nope. Only Browser that can on iOS is Brave.
- ssl-3 25d ago
  With Safari and the very first free-to-use extension I picked years ago (AdGuard, IIRC), I don't see any YouTube ads on iOS.
- kioleanu 25d ago
  I don’t have YouTube ads with Safari and AdGuard
  - __david__ 25d ago
    I just tried AdGuard with safari and got YouTube ads. Do you have to configure something special?
    - ssl-3 25d ago
      I will check what particular settings I have for AdGuard when I get back home this evening. I don't recall anything particularly hairy but it has been a few years.
    - kioleanu 24d ago
      There‘s a checkbox called “Enhanced Protection” (name might vary, I have the app in another language) that specifically says it’s for stuff like YouTube
  - not-so-darkstar 24d ago
    do you use the AdGuard app or just the DNS?
- hmokiguess 25d ago
  DuckDuckGo Browser can as well
- red369 24d ago
  Safari with the uBlock Origin Lite extension works well for me - even with "Web page Contents and Browsing History" permission set to 'Deny' for all websites.
skarz 25d ago
For that, there's ProTube[1]. On the surface it behaves like YouTube Premium, under the hood it's just the mobile version of YouTube bundled into an iOS app. I have no idea why ads aren't served, I analyzed the network requests with Fiddler Everywhere and saw nothing nefarious. [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/protube-block-ads-on-video/id6748081431 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/protube-block-ads-on-video/id6...
- flyingshelf 25d ago
  Why not use YouTube in Safari then? Haven't seen ads in years. Plenty of options to block them already.
  - skarz 25d ago
    Does YouTube in Safari play in background/with the screen off?
    - flyingshelf 24d ago
      I use yPlayer for that, plus SponsorBlock
    - qwerpy 25d ago
      I’m doing it right now. It does pause when you switch away from safari but you swipe down to get the control center and then resume play.
    - red369 24d ago
      I like "Vinegar - Tube Cleaner" for this. It's not a perfect solution - I have occasionally noticed it leading to some buggy behaviour in the YouTube/YouTube Music sites using Safari, but nothing anywhere near as bad as using those websites without it! The only odd behaviour I can call to mind was one time that it continued playing audio when I answered a phone call. It was easy to stop the music playing, and the other person on the call couldn't hear the music. I was actually disappointed that the other person couldn't hear the music, and I've been disappointed every time I've taken a phone call since and the music hasn't continued playing. I wish that was a feature :) I think Vinegar was well worth the small one-time price, and I like supporting the developer. I've heard that Brave allows playing with the screen off, but I like my setup enough that I don't want to install Brave just for that.

Can it block YouTube ads? Would be a killer feature.

by cedws 25d ago

Can it block YouTube ads? Would be a killer feature.

overflowy 25d ago

Nope. Only Browser that can on iOS is Brave.

ssl-3 25d ago
With Safari and the very first free-to-use extension I picked years ago (AdGuard, IIRC), I don't see any YouTube ads on iOS.
kioleanu 25d ago
I don’t have YouTube ads with Safari and AdGuard
- __david__ 25d ago
  I just tried AdGuard with safari and got YouTube ads. Do you have to configure something special?
  - ssl-3 25d ago
    I will check what particular settings I have for AdGuard when I get back home this evening. I don't recall anything particularly hairy but it has been a few years.
  - kioleanu 24d ago
    There‘s a checkbox called “Enhanced Protection” (name might vary, I have the app in another language) that specifically says it’s for stuff like YouTube
- not-so-darkstar 24d ago
  do you use the AdGuard app or just the DNS?
hmokiguess 25d ago
DuckDuckGo Browser can as well
red369 24d ago
Safari with the uBlock Origin Lite extension works well for me - even with "Web page Contents and Browsing History" permission set to 'Deny' for all websites.

skarz 25d ago

For that, there's ProTube[1]. On the surface it behaves like YouTube Premium, under the hood it's just the mobile version of YouTube bundled into an iOS app. I have no idea why ads aren't served, I analyzed the network requests with Fiddler Everywhere and saw nothing nefarious. [1] https://apps.apple.com/us/app/protube-block-ads-on-video/id6748081431 https://apps.apple.com/us/app/protube-block-ads-on-video/id6...

flyingshelf 25d ago
Why not use YouTube in Safari then? Haven't seen ads in years. Plenty of options to block them already.
- skarz 25d ago
  Does YouTube in Safari play in background/with the screen off?
  - flyingshelf 24d ago
    I use yPlayer for that, plus SponsorBlock
  - qwerpy 25d ago
    I’m doing it right now. It does pause when you switch away from safari but you swipe down to get the control center and then resume play.
  - red369 24d ago
    I like "Vinegar - Tube Cleaner" for this. It's not a perfect solution - I have occasionally noticed it leading to some buggy behaviour in the YouTube/YouTube Music sites using Safari, but nothing anywhere near as bad as using those websites without it! The only odd behaviour I can call to mind was one time that it continued playing audio when I answered a phone call. It was easy to stop the music playing, and the other person on the call couldn't hear the music. I was actually disappointed that the other person couldn't hear the music, and I've been disappointed every time I've taken a phone call since and the music hasn't continued playing. I wish that was a feature :) I think Vinegar was well worth the small one-time price, and I like supporting the developer. I've heard that Brave allows playing with the screen off, but I like my setup enough that I don't want to install Brave just for that.