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I really wish I could block ads somehow on my iPad Air. I'm pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem and use an LTE iPad Air almost every day on public transit, a

I really wish I could block ads somehow on my iPad Air. I'm pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem and use an LTE iPad Air almost every day on public transit, and the inability to block ads really makes mobile Safari a shitty experience. I mean, I'd never run (and I'm sure a lot of people here don't either) a desktop browser without some sort of ad blocking going on. That and being able to have two apps run side by side would be a great boost to my commuting productivity, but I've long since resigned that I'll finally have to move ecosystems if I want any of that.

jstalin 12y ago
disconnect.me now has an ipad app. I've been using it to block ads (an extra fee). It works fairly well, but doesn't catch everything.
untog 12y ago
I'd never run (and I'm sure a lot of people here don't either) a desktop browser without some sort of ad blocking going on I'd actually be interested to see an HN poll on this. I do not run an ad blocker and frankly I find most complaints about ads online to be totally overblown. Years ago there was a hellish amount of pop-ups, pop-overs and pop-unders, but these days I really don't have many problems, and I'm happy to support the sites I use.
- abluecloud 12y ago
  Some of my browsing habits lead me to sites where there are literally popups upon popups. Sure, maybe I could only enable it for those sights, but that takes time - and I'm lazy. So whilst I see where you're coming from, you can't just rule out annoying ads all together.
- DSMan195276 12y ago
  I'm in the same boat, I don't run an ad blocker, but I do block flash and java-script from running until I enable them per-website. I personally don't have a problem with ad's, but my home laptop is pretty slow and ad's on most websites eat a ridiculous amount of resources.
- jamroom 12y ago
  It's not just ads though - as someone who runs NoScript in Firefox the number of 3rd party ad targeting and "audience enhancement" stuff I see that gets pulled in to most sites is crazy - some sites pull in stuff from like 20 different providers. It's this ad retargetting that follows you around the web that personally bothers me - I know not everyone cares (and some even welcome it) but seeing how much tracking is going on makes me really glad I'm running NoScript and ad blockers.
- personZ 12y ago
  It's also worth noting that ABP is an absolute pig, on either Firefox or Chrome. I found that memory consumption and machine churn significantly dropped when I simply removed it and lived with ads. I've done no empirical measures on this, but am convinced that the cure is worse than the disease.
  - Osiris 12y ago
    I'm using HTTP Switchboard which uses much less memory has offers a lot more control over what to block and what to allow through, but it does take a bit more configuration than ABP.
    - jobu 12y ago
      µBlock is from the same author and a whole lot easier to use: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock
    - deleted 12y ago
      [deleted]
  - ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
    True, which is why I tried to be agnostic on the actual means of adblocking in my op. Regardless, it requires a level of openness on Apple's part that I'm being slightly delusional about wanting.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - MBCook 12y ago
    I'm getting really close to switching back to AdBlock for Safari (the one based on an old fork). It did a decent job my machines feel much older with ABP. I can see rendering delays on large pages.
  - Igglyboo 12y ago
    Try uBlock, it is much faster than ABP and uses way less resources. Or do it the good old fashion way and use a HOSTS file with the added advantage that ads will be blocked on your entire computer and not just your browser.
- mikeash 12y ago
  For whatever it's worth, I'm about the same. I never bothered with any of the blockers, and just browse sites normally. I don't pay much attention to the ads. I call it my wetware ad blocker. Some sites can be really awful, but I just don't visit those anymore.
- darren_ 12y ago
  iOS is a special case for ad-blocking, because until iOS8 Safari could be induced to redirect you to the Appstore app, and (less reputable) ads would frequently take advantage of this. (http://www.tuaw.com/2014/06/18/ios-8-safari-can-block-ads-from-automatically-redirecting-to-the/ http://www.tuaw.com/2014/06/18/ios-8-safari-can-block-ads-fr...)
- acdha 12y ago
  I don't use an ad blocker but I also don't have Flash installed. That last step was transformative a few years back when Flash was even slower and unreliable on OS X but it's still a surprising win even now. The main difference I see now is that people with ad blockers talk about frequenting sites which have tons of ads, which doesn't send a message to the owner and probably actually exacerbates the problem since they'll toss bigger, more intrusive ads in ads the clicks-per-visitor rate drops. If I hit a site like that, I'll just leave and go somewhere else which respects its visitors more, particularly if they're savvy enough to follow the lead of sites like ArsTechnica which allow subscribers to disable ads.
- interpol_p 12y ago
  It's kind of like when you stop watching TV for years — encountering a TV commercial is a horribly memorable and distracting event. You also develop a hypersensitivity to ads on the web after blocking them for a long time. If you are used to them and can block them out you're probably mentally doing the same job as an ad blocker.
- barrkel 12y ago
  I can't read text on screens that have animations on them. Well, I can, but it requires a noticeably higher level of focus not to be distracted by movement in my peripheral vision - noticeable enough to be unpleasant. I just tried disabled my adblocker temporarily; Ars Technica itself has exactly the kind of animated ads that I can't stand. It's not just ads, though. It's all animations. I use image.animation_mode=once in Firefox to disable looping gif animations, use Flashblock, and generally disable anything that auto-starts whenever possible. The only thing I want animated on my screen is the cursor.
- zippergz 12y ago
  The only ad blocking I use or need is disabling Flash, and iOS comes with that out of the box.
  - drwxrwxrwt 12y ago
    The progress marches on. The major annoyance are "talking" ads which disabling flash used to neuter. Nowadays, I see more and more autoplayed video ads served as a fallback. Almost at the point where need to do something to preserve some sanity. I like the "support the sites" mantra, but those publishers need to try to choose reputable ads networks and enforce the policy of cutting clearly obnoxious ones
- frogpelt 12y ago
  Minor point of contention: Are you actually supporting the sites if you aren't clicking on the ads?
  - untog 12y ago
    Yes.
- Gracana 12y ago
  Going to android forums on an android device (with no ad blocking) made me really appreciate how much ad blocking does for me. On those forums I'd see an add fixed at the bottom, a floating ad at the start, and ads in between posts. Even Ars Technica shows me full page click-through ads every time I visit. It's awful!
- drzaiusapelord 12y ago
  I used to, but got tired of it. ABP just seems to make everything slower. Back in the day, an ad blocking hosts file worked like magic. No memory leaks from the browser or other problems. Ad loads failed at name resolution time and failed very quickly. Also, to be fair to internet marketers, ads are much better than they used to be. The old 'punch the monkey style' ads are long gone outside of.. how do you say, questionable sites. Auto-playing videos are rare. Once in a blue moon I actually click on ads that are targeted to me. The system sometimes works. Railing against ads just seems like a poseur-ish thing nowadays. I also feel especially bad blocking ads from sites I visit regularly. Its a dick-ish thing to do. It just seems better to keep open a dialogue on what we consider acceptable ads and what we consider unacceptable ads. Or help the site owner understand that they're better off with targeted ads or selling their ad space themselves, than joining some shady affiliate group with generic "This school teacher is making $900 a day" crap or, heaven forbid, video auto-play ads (which are pretty rare nowadays outside of news sites/youtube where the content is video but you're forced to sit through 35 seconds of ad before you can see it.) A lot of annoying content isn't ads at all, its dhtml/css 'pop ups' asking you for your email address or facebook login or survey or whatever. ABP doesn't usually stop those either. Loudly proclaiming you must use ABP is almost like saying, "Well, I visit tons of shady porn and torrent sites, where its more or less required." The non-shady web just seems like a better place than during the early 2000s when Flash ads ruled. YMMV of course.
- eevilspock 12y ago
  It would be better to support the sites you use by paying for them without an advertising middleman[1]. If only we all focused on solving this direct payment problem[2] instead of actually actively working to further embed the advertising industry[3]. Sadly my comments along these lines always get downvoted because, as Upton Sinclair said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7485773 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7485773 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8008337 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8008337 [3] "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks." – Jeff Hammerbacher, fmr. Manager of Facebook Data Team, founder of Cloudera
- CmonDev 12y ago
  The ad is an idea that someone knows what you need better than yourself. I prefer need-based research.
jamroom 12y ago
Check out the Atomic Web Browser - I think it's getting a bit older but works well, and blocks ads: http://atomicwebbrowser.com/ http://atomicwebbrowser.com/
dan1234 12y ago
Ars offer subscriptions[0] which remove the adverts (amongst other things) http://arstechnica.com/subscriptions http://arstechnica.com/subscriptions
- ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
  Ironically, Ars is a site that is really atrocious on mobile Safari, ad wise. I visit there regularly, and often I get full page ads that block the view.
  - matt-attack 12y ago
    I recommend the Reader mode in safari. It's the closest I've come to "ad block" on an iPhone. It can take an article on an absolutely atrocious website, with hovering top and bottom bars, hovering ads, etc., and transform it into pure heaven: beautiful text, on a clean background, with relevant images.
    - ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
      Thanks, I never use it so I forgot about it.
CheckHook 12y ago
I don't use ABP because I like to support the websites I visit, other than Youtube. The recent changes really made me turn against them.
dankoss 12y ago
I use OpenDNS from my router to block ads on all my devices. You have to add some custom domains to hit the major sources, but it works reasonably well when you're at home.
iaskwhy 12y ago
I have been trying the Mercury Browser lately because some pages just don't load anymore on my iPhone 4. Give it a try.[1] [1] https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mercury-web-browser/id331012646?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mercury-web-browser/id331012...
- covercash 12y ago
  I came here to suggest this one as well, lots of control (including setting user agent) as well as solid pop up and adblock extensions.
  - iaskwhy 12y ago
    What do you think of the scrolling? It's different from the one used by the system and I kind of feel like it's better but I'm not yet sure about it.
archagon 12y ago
Fortunately, iOS8 (IIRC) allows apps to finally use the full power of the JS engine, so 3rd party browsers should be able to run as fast as Safari. If you don't mind switching, I'm sure there are 3rd party browsers that allow you to block ads.
mstolpm 12y ago
Two more options for ad blocking on iOS: Weblock is an app/service that works via Proxy configuration, so it blocks most in-app ads as well. For web browsing, iCabMobile is a web browser with build-in ad blocking. (There are others as well, iCabMobile is just the one I like most).
beering 12y ago
You can set up a Privoxy server or a VPN through a server that blocks connections to known ad servers. There are publicly available blacklists of ad and other unwanted servers. Takes some elbow grease, but the benefits of not loading ads should more than make up for the slowdown from going through a proxy.
- moheeb 12y ago
  I second this approach. Privoxy can be run on a machine or potentially the router. This way whatever device you use ads are blocked. No need to install something on each device.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
benbristow 12y ago
Jailbreak and there's almost definitely a tool to do it.
maherbeg 12y ago
Why can't you just avoid sites that use advertising? How is it fair to companies to give you free content without having to pay for it. If you find a site has annoying advertising then stop browsing it and find an alternative. Vote with your browsing habits.
- Istof 12y ago
  it is fairly easy for a site to block most users that use ad blockers ... but it is much harder to not use a site that use advertising when you have an ad blocker...
foobarqux 12y ago
Is there an equivalent of AdAway on Android that blocks ads in apps?
Terretta 12y ago
iCab Mobile for iOS used to support ad filtering, e.g., http://www.icab-mobile.de/iCabMobileFilters.html?lang=en http://www.icab-mobile.de/iCabMobileFilters.html?lang=en but not sure if v8 still does that.

jstalin 12y ago

disconnect.me now has an ipad app. I've been using it to block ads (an extra fee). It works fairly well, but doesn't catch everything.

untog 12y ago

I'd never run (and I'm sure a lot of people here don't either) a desktop browser without some sort of ad blocking going on I'd actually be interested to see an HN poll on this. I do not run an ad blocker and frankly I find most complaints about ads online to be totally overblown. Years ago there was a hellish amount of pop-ups, pop-overs and pop-unders, but these days I really don't have many problems, and I'm happy to support the sites I use.

abluecloud 12y ago
Some of my browsing habits lead me to sites where there are literally popups upon popups. Sure, maybe I could only enable it for those sights, but that takes time - and I'm lazy. So whilst I see where you're coming from, you can't just rule out annoying ads all together.
DSMan195276 12y ago
I'm in the same boat, I don't run an ad blocker, but I do block flash and java-script from running until I enable them per-website. I personally don't have a problem with ad's, but my home laptop is pretty slow and ad's on most websites eat a ridiculous amount of resources.
jamroom 12y ago
It's not just ads though - as someone who runs NoScript in Firefox the number of 3rd party ad targeting and "audience enhancement" stuff I see that gets pulled in to most sites is crazy - some sites pull in stuff from like 20 different providers. It's this ad retargetting that follows you around the web that personally bothers me - I know not everyone cares (and some even welcome it) but seeing how much tracking is going on makes me really glad I'm running NoScript and ad blockers.
personZ 12y ago
It's also worth noting that ABP is an absolute pig, on either Firefox or Chrome. I found that memory consumption and machine churn significantly dropped when I simply removed it and lived with ads. I've done no empirical measures on this, but am convinced that the cure is worse than the disease.
- Osiris 12y ago
  I'm using HTTP Switchboard which uses much less memory has offers a lot more control over what to block and what to allow through, but it does take a bit more configuration than ABP.
  - jobu 12y ago
    µBlock is from the same author and a whole lot easier to use: https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
- ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
  True, which is why I tried to be agnostic on the actual means of adblocking in my op. Regardless, it requires a level of openness on Apple's part that I'm being slightly delusional about wanting.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- MBCook 12y ago
  I'm getting really close to switching back to AdBlock for Safari (the one based on an old fork). It did a decent job my machines feel much older with ABP. I can see rendering delays on large pages.
- Igglyboo 12y ago
  Try uBlock, it is much faster than ABP and uses way less resources. Or do it the good old fashion way and use a HOSTS file with the added advantage that ads will be blocked on your entire computer and not just your browser.
mikeash 12y ago
For whatever it's worth, I'm about the same. I never bothered with any of the blockers, and just browse sites normally. I don't pay much attention to the ads. I call it my wetware ad blocker. Some sites can be really awful, but I just don't visit those anymore.
darren_ 12y ago
iOS is a special case for ad-blocking, because until iOS8 Safari could be induced to redirect you to the Appstore app, and (less reputable) ads would frequently take advantage of this. (http://www.tuaw.com/2014/06/18/ios-8-safari-can-block-ads-from-automatically-redirecting-to-the/ http://www.tuaw.com/2014/06/18/ios-8-safari-can-block-ads-fr...)
acdha 12y ago
I don't use an ad blocker but I also don't have Flash installed. That last step was transformative a few years back when Flash was even slower and unreliable on OS X but it's still a surprising win even now. The main difference I see now is that people with ad blockers talk about frequenting sites which have tons of ads, which doesn't send a message to the owner and probably actually exacerbates the problem since they'll toss bigger, more intrusive ads in ads the clicks-per-visitor rate drops. If I hit a site like that, I'll just leave and go somewhere else which respects its visitors more, particularly if they're savvy enough to follow the lead of sites like ArsTechnica which allow subscribers to disable ads.
interpol_p 12y ago
It's kind of like when you stop watching TV for years — encountering a TV commercial is a horribly memorable and distracting event. You also develop a hypersensitivity to ads on the web after blocking them for a long time. If you are used to them and can block them out you're probably mentally doing the same job as an ad blocker.
barrkel 12y ago
I can't read text on screens that have animations on them. Well, I can, but it requires a noticeably higher level of focus not to be distracted by movement in my peripheral vision - noticeable enough to be unpleasant. I just tried disabled my adblocker temporarily; Ars Technica itself has exactly the kind of animated ads that I can't stand. It's not just ads, though. It's all animations. I use image.animation_mode=once in Firefox to disable looping gif animations, use Flashblock, and generally disable anything that auto-starts whenever possible. The only thing I want animated on my screen is the cursor.
zippergz 12y ago
The only ad blocking I use or need is disabling Flash, and iOS comes with that out of the box.
- drwxrwxrwt 12y ago
  The progress marches on. The major annoyance are "talking" ads which disabling flash used to neuter. Nowadays, I see more and more autoplayed video ads served as a fallback. Almost at the point where need to do something to preserve some sanity. I like the "support the sites" mantra, but those publishers need to try to choose reputable ads networks and enforce the policy of cutting clearly obnoxious ones
frogpelt 12y ago
Minor point of contention: Are you actually supporting the sites if you aren't clicking on the ads?
- untog 12y ago
  Yes.
Gracana 12y ago
Going to android forums on an android device (with no ad blocking) made me really appreciate how much ad blocking does for me. On those forums I'd see an add fixed at the bottom, a floating ad at the start, and ads in between posts. Even Ars Technica shows me full page click-through ads every time I visit. It's awful!
drzaiusapelord 12y ago
I used to, but got tired of it. ABP just seems to make everything slower. Back in the day, an ad blocking hosts file worked like magic. No memory leaks from the browser or other problems. Ad loads failed at name resolution time and failed very quickly. Also, to be fair to internet marketers, ads are much better than they used to be. The old 'punch the monkey style' ads are long gone outside of.. how do you say, questionable sites. Auto-playing videos are rare. Once in a blue moon I actually click on ads that are targeted to me. The system sometimes works. Railing against ads just seems like a poseur-ish thing nowadays. I also feel especially bad blocking ads from sites I visit regularly. Its a dick-ish thing to do. It just seems better to keep open a dialogue on what we consider acceptable ads and what we consider unacceptable ads. Or help the site owner understand that they're better off with targeted ads or selling their ad space themselves, than joining some shady affiliate group with generic "This school teacher is making $900 a day" crap or, heaven forbid, video auto-play ads (which are pretty rare nowadays outside of news sites/youtube where the content is video but you're forced to sit through 35 seconds of ad before you can see it.) A lot of annoying content isn't ads at all, its dhtml/css 'pop ups' asking you for your email address or facebook login or survey or whatever. ABP doesn't usually stop those either. Loudly proclaiming you must use ABP is almost like saying, "Well, I visit tons of shady porn and torrent sites, where its more or less required." The non-shady web just seems like a better place than during the early 2000s when Flash ads ruled. YMMV of course.
eevilspock 12y ago
It would be better to support the sites you use by paying for them without an advertising middleman[1]. If only we all focused on solving this direct payment problem[2] instead of actually actively working to further embed the advertising industry[3]. Sadly my comments along these lines always get downvoted because, as Upton Sinclair said, "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7485773 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7485773 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8008337 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8008337 [3] "The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads. That sucks." – Jeff Hammerbacher, fmr. Manager of Facebook Data Team, founder of Cloudera
CmonDev 12y ago
The ad is an idea that someone knows what you need better than yourself. I prefer need-based research.

jamroom 12y ago

Check out the Atomic Web Browser - I think it's getting a bit older but works well, and blocks ads: http://atomicwebbrowser.com/ http://atomicwebbrowser.com/

dan1234 12y ago

Ars offer subscriptions[0] which remove the adverts (amongst other things) http://arstechnica.com/subscriptions http://arstechnica.com/subscriptions

ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
Ironically, Ars is a site that is really atrocious on mobile Safari, ad wise. I visit there regularly, and often I get full page ads that block the view.
- matt-attack 12y ago
  I recommend the Reader mode in safari. It's the closest I've come to "ad block" on an iPhone. It can take an article on an absolutely atrocious website, with hovering top and bottom bars, hovering ads, etc., and transform it into pure heaven: beautiful text, on a clean background, with relevant images.
  - ZanyProgrammer 12y ago
    Thanks, I never use it so I forgot about it.

CheckHook 12y ago

I don't use ABP because I like to support the websites I visit, other than Youtube. The recent changes really made me turn against them.

dankoss 12y ago

I use OpenDNS from my router to block ads on all my devices. You have to add some custom domains to hit the major sources, but it works reasonably well when you're at home.

iaskwhy 12y ago

I have been trying the Mercury Browser lately because some pages just don't load anymore on my iPhone 4. Give it a try.[1] [1] https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mercury-web-browser/id331012646?mt=8 https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/mercury-web-browser/id331012...

covercash 12y ago
I came here to suggest this one as well, lots of control (including setting user agent) as well as solid pop up and adblock extensions.
- iaskwhy 12y ago
  What do you think of the scrolling? It's different from the one used by the system and I kind of feel like it's better but I'm not yet sure about it.

archagon 12y ago

Fortunately, iOS8 (IIRC) allows apps to finally use the full power of the JS engine, so 3rd party browsers should be able to run as fast as Safari. If you don't mind switching, I'm sure there are 3rd party browsers that allow you to block ads.

mstolpm 12y ago

Two more options for ad blocking on iOS: Weblock is an app/service that works via Proxy configuration, so it blocks most in-app ads as well. For web browsing, iCabMobile is a web browser with build-in ad blocking. (There are others as well, iCabMobile is just the one I like most).

beering 12y ago

You can set up a Privoxy server or a VPN through a server that blocks connections to known ad servers. There are publicly available blacklists of ad and other unwanted servers. Takes some elbow grease, but the benefits of not loading ads should more than make up for the slowdown from going through a proxy.

moheeb 12y ago
I second this approach. Privoxy can be run on a machine or potentially the router. This way whatever device you use ads are blocked. No need to install something on each device.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

benbristow 12y ago

Jailbreak and there's almost definitely a tool to do it.

maherbeg 12y ago

Why can't you just avoid sites that use advertising? How is it fair to companies to give you free content without having to pay for it. If you find a site has annoying advertising then stop browsing it and find an alternative. Vote with your browsing habits.

Istof 12y ago
it is fairly easy for a site to block most users that use ad blockers ... but it is much harder to not use a site that use advertising when you have an ad blocker...

foobarqux 12y ago

Is there an equivalent of AdAway on Android that blocks ads in apps?

Terretta 12y ago

iCab Mobile for iOS used to support ad filtering, e.g., http://www.icab-mobile.de/iCabMobileFilters.html?lang=en http://www.icab-mobile.de/iCabMobileFilters.html?lang=en but not sure if v8 still does that.