HN Reader

I’ve been using uBlock Origin Lite on iOS for several months now, but one shortcoming I see with the newer WebExtensions implementation in Safari is that WebExtensions can’t be used with the in-app Safari views, meaning extensions such as this one don’t work with in-app Safari views. There was an older Safari content blocker API that did work with the in-app Safari views, but it seems like apps are being updated to stop using it. As a workaround, I’ve been trying to set my apps to open the Safari app for links where possible, but I would have preferred to use the in-app Safari views.

In all these years I haven’t found a better solution than DNS blocking with NextDNS on iOS. The only place I get ads is YT (but for that I have an Albanian VPN)

Semi-OT: you can use Wireguard through a home network (with dynamic dns) that has a PiHole or similar setup if you want more broad ad blocking for all apps while away from your home network.

Meanwhile firefox with full adblock and adguard dns/pihole if you like to selfhost, never seen an ad on my samsung phone.

What's the advantage of a macOS app over a browser extension? (currently I use the latter)

I'm wondering which ad blocker you've had success with...specifically I'm wondering:

- Does this also block ads on Youtube (in the browser)?

- Can this block Youtube Shorts (they're way too addictive for me)?

I can'e even imagine browsing the web without ublock origin. How and Why Apple users endured it, I fail to comprehend.

I use NextDNS on my iphone. It works well but be warned it can break some apps so you'll need to do some allow-listing

How does it compare to AdBlock Plus?

Why not use a phone that allows you to use the full version ublock? Ios is everything that is wrong with software today in one package.

Previous discussions of some months ago:

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44795825

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44335664

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43976898

We already have Wipr 2 (https://kaylees.site/wipr2.html) on the App store which is a pretty dang great ad blocker and well worth the price.

Personally I’ve been using Brave browser on desktop and iOS. It has some of the best adblocking on mobile. Also use adguard pro which provides dns level filtering.

A more native open-source version:

https://github.com/0xCUB3/wBlock

I use lite on firefox android it's great

It's funny my Motorolla phone keeps installing random games on it like ugh...

Wipr 2 is my adblocker for all iDevices. It works flawlessly. EDIT: other extensions are Hush and Sponsorblock.

I had been wishing for uBlock Origin for Safari for years, but now that it’s here (I’ve been using it since the betas), I’m disappointed. It’s really ugly to look at (even the icon in the toolbar looks out of place), configuration is awkward and resets itself unless you give it full permissions for every website from the get go, and it doesn’t seem to be more effective than other popular blockers. Additionally, pretty much every other blocker includes several extensions to overcome the well-known 150K rule limit, but uBlock Origin only includes one, meaning it can’t be blocking as much.

Is this legitimate? I can’t find any reference to this on Raymond Hill’s github or ublock’s web site.

EasyPrivacy has too many false positives, and no way to report them. If you are a techie who understands what the messages mean, and can click the button to proceed to a site on a false positive, then it's fine to have it turned on. But if you are setting up ad blocking for a non-technical user, I would recommend turning EasyPrivacy off.

I wanted uBlock Origin Lite to win, but based on my personal experience with uBlock Origin Lite, 1Blocker, and Wipr, I find that 1Blocker blocks far more on the sites I visit. uBlock Origin Lite and Wipr are roughly equal in second place. YMMV.

It helps to run everything by Cover Your Tracks[1], too.

1. https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

The normal uBlock origin extension can be installed on Orion browser for iOS

Orion is webkit and can be set as default browser.

kaooskkdkdkdkdkd

Scrolling through the comments reading about all the adblockers that folks recommend makes my head spin. Why exactly should I trust any of these to have full access to my browser? Looking through the app store I see so many that are clearly trying to impersonate the well known ones by using similar names. It sounds like uBlock Origin Lite is trusted by many, but watch out for Ublock and 1Block, which are also top App Store results. Going off memory, the the chrome store is even worse. The whole situation is extremely sketchy. This is not even to mention supply chain attacks which could hijack even honest projects.

Personally I’ve settled on blocking at the DNS level with unbound and a blocklist. It’s not perfect but it limits the blast radius.

uBo paired with 1Blocker and Hush has my safari running at 100% blocked on all the adblock test sites. I was only at 84% with Adguard. Its a small improvement, but I'll take it.

The lack of proper adblocker on iOS is what convinced me to use the Brave browser instead of Firefox or Safari. An adblocker is included by default.

And as a bonus : possibility to keep music videos playing while changing app. (A parameter has to be switched for that though)

One annoying thing I have is, when I want to disable Adblock on some website (suspecting Adblock impair functionality, or where Adblock is not needed), I need to grant the extension full access before I can disable it.

Is there some trick I am missing?

Would it work with Firefox iOS?