A notable ad tracking blocker, 1Blocker on iOS/macOS, has performed a tremendous service to those using it over the years: building a library of trackers and maintaining it as a Content Blocker extension within Safari.
I’ve used it on and off for several years. It mostly works. The elimination of reading hostile formats like auto-playing video banners and slow-loading ads has been a boon to the overall quality of life I have on my devices.
The primary limitation it has had over the years was blocking prevalent ads in-app. That changes with their 4.0 update. They’ve cleverly designed a ”firewall” VPN system that blocks in-app ads and trackers locally on the phone. This means there’s no round-trip delay in running a normal VPN through their servers, which mitigates against speed deprecation.
MacStories has a good summary of the update, and they’ve been able to use to beta for several weeks leading up to the launch. Love to see these kinds of updates come through.
I’ve used it on and off for several years. It mostly works. The elimination of reading hostile formats like auto-playing video banners and slow-loading ads has been a boon to the overall quality of life I have on my devices.
The primary limitation it has had over the years was blocking prevalent ads in-app. That changes with their 4.0 update. They’ve cleverly designed a ”firewall” VPN system that blocks in-app ads and trackers locally on the phone. This means there’s no round-trip delay in running a normal VPN through their servers, which mitigates against speed deprecation.
MacStories has a good summary of the update, and they’ve been able to use to beta for several weeks leading up to the launch. Love to see these kinds of updates come through.