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iOS 9 Content Blockers Mini-Reviews
- Thread starter Apple_Robert
- Start date
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I just tried Magic and it works great. However, websites load slightly slower than Purify - and I do mean slightly. The reduced speed is not enough to be an annoyance but I have been using Purify for so long that I can see a speed difference with Magic.. I can live with itMagic also removes white space along with the ads, which is ideal on smaller screens in order to reduce scrolling.
Overall, I like Magic. Thank you, @Magic App
Have you updated to the latest blocklist (v12)? It should be faster!
I'm pretty sure that our blocker engine is more efficient than Purify's (Blocks more ads, trackers, social widgets and white spaces). Less broken websites and blank pages too.
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys. You can also use the report feature in our Safari Extension.
We can only get better by users reporting websites
Thank you!
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Have you updated to the new blocklist (v12)? It should be even faster!
I'm pretty sure that our blocker engine is more efficient than Purify (Block more ads, trackers, social widgets and white spaces). Less broken websites and blank pages too.
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys. You can also use the report feature through our Safari Extension.
We can only get better by users reporting websites
Thank you.
I can attest to you statement. Magic adblock is way better than Purify. Of all the websites that Purify breaks (reported but remained unfixed), Magic renders them properly. I really regretted paying 2.99 for Purify, the money should be invested on other dedicated developers instead.
I love 1Blocker, but I must say that the accuracy of Magic adblocking is better than 1Blocker too, at least for all the websites that I had tested in the last 30 minutes. Magic is simply marvellous!
Thank you for making this wonderful app! I hope it will eventually become the undisputed adblocker champion on iOS.
*** Please take a look at disney.de. The EU cookie notice is not blocked on my iPhone 6s, despite enabling the option in advanced settings.
I have updated to the latest block list v.12.Have you updated to the new blocklist (v12)? It should be even faster!
I'm pretty sure that our blocker engine is more efficient than Purify (Block more ads, trackers, social widgets and white spaces). Less broken websites and blank pages too.
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys. You can also use the report feature through our Safari Extension.
We can only get better by users reporting websites
Thank you.
I have not seen any broken websites and I haven't found the need to whitelist some of the websites that I did with Purify so they would render properly.
@Magic App Please let us know if Magic app is on Twitter, I'd like to follow.
Have you updated to the new blocklist (v12)? It should be even faster!
I'm pretty sure that our blocker engine is more efficient than Purify (Block more ads, trackers, social widgets and white spaces). Less broken websites and blank pages too.
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys. You can also use the report feature through our Safari Extension.
We can only get better by users reporting websites
Thank you.
Some adult website it doesn't show up? Why not? Only have enable addblock. I mean the page is fully blank.
And if I disable it then it works...
Magic is now finally launched! Price: Free (for a limited time).
Go get it here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/magic-adblock-block-ads.-browse/id1044364938
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys!
beautiful icon and beautiful app. congrats for that. you have very good taste.
Did you by any chance turn on "Block adult sites" in advanced settings?
You can find them on Twitter under the following handle: @GetMagicApp.
Thus far, 99% of my reporting has been done through DMs on Twitter. I cannot say enough good things about how responsive they have been compared to my previous experience with Purify.
This is a quote from my conversation with the devs:
"We will make reporting anonymously and easier too. Not all people have email linked in their phone"
Should be added in soon but I suppose the time frame is up in the air. Do you use Twitter? Understandably, it is not as convenient as reporting through the Safari extension, but it's an workable alternative until they make the change...?
I must admit to never trying to go to any adult sites on my phone, but have you tried the usual troubleshooting steps? Update blocklist, disable/re-enable the blocker, quit Safari and re-open, delete and re-install the app, clear Safari's cache?
It could be that the app just doesn't play nice with those sites in particular, or perhaps they have employed some sort of "anti-ad blocker" tech? Barring all of that, I would just report the sites to the dev and hope they discover/fix the issue quickly.
Just found this thread and am amazed by the Magic App ad blocker, works perfectly for me and the speed increase on many sites is notable. Kudos
Thank you very much for this adblocker.Have you updated to the latest blocklist (v12)? It should be faster!
I'm pretty sure that our blocker engine is more efficient than Purify's (Blocks more ads, trackers, social widgets and white spaces). Less broken websites and blank pages too.
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys. You can also use the report feature in our Safari Extension.
We can only get better by users reporting websites
Thank you!
What is the source of the EU cookie block list ? Prebake ? I'd like to notice you on this source for EU cookie blocking list, that's also very nice in complementing the Prebake list : https://github.com/r4vi/ (macrumors censors s h i t in the URL).
Regarding the app which blocks the Adult sites, is it possible to implement a black list ? As in a user defined list of sites that show about:blank as well ? It would help immensely with impulse opening of certain sites.
Can you explain how to update to the latest blocklist version???Have you updated to the latest blocklist (v12)? It should be faster!
I'm pretty sure that our blocker engine is more efficient than Purify's (Blocks more ads, trackers, social widgets and white spaces). Less broken websites and blank pages too.
Looking forward to hear your feedback, guys. You can also use the report feature in our Safari Extension.
We can only get better by users reporting websites
Thank you!
I apologize in advance if I'm stepping on any toes but I'm going to do a review of Magic. I've been testing/using it for 3 weeks now and if this could be helpful to anyone, I'd like to help. Not saying I'm planning on taking over review duties from BasicGreatGuy, but I feel like I'm in a pretty good position to do this one.
Magic Adblock - Block Ads. Browse Magic Fast. by Simon Moghimi
App design - A
Magic is pretty simple and straight-forward. You enable the app in Settings under Safari -> Content Blockers and you're good to go. By default, Magic only has the "Block Ads" feature turned on but additional functions are available to be enabled at the user's discretion. They are as follow:
The options provided for the user are fairly robust. You can locate the dev's Twitter account, website and email within the 'About' section if you would like to learn more or need to contact the dev. You have the ability to whitelist websites from here, but there is also a Safari shortcut for whitelisting websites without having to open the app every single time you want to do that.
More features will be coming in future updates according to the dev, but even now it is quite fully featured. You don't have the same customizability as a blocker like 1blocker, but that's why you have choices.
Blocking power - A
In my experience, Magic has done what it has advertised and set out to do. As always, your mileage may vary and my experience may not be representative of everyone's. I also did not test it on nearly as many websites as BGG usually does and not all the same websites.
Some websites such as Ars Technica and IGN originally had blank ad boxes on pages, but were quickly fixed within moments of reporting them to the dev through Twitter. Subjectively speaking, I have had far fewer issues with websites bring broken using Magic compared to other content blockers.
The following websites were tested: Time Magazine^, CNN, Yahoo******, MacRumors, Amazon^^, Fox News****, Huffington Post, iMore, The Verge, The Wall Street Journal, Kat.cr, MacWorld**, Apple, ImDB, Reddit, MLB.com****, NBA.com, NFL.com, NHL.com, Giant Bomb, Team Liquid, Anandtech, Ars Technica, iOSnoops.com, Mangastream, Mangareader, Techradar, GameSpot****, IGN
Unless otherwise noted by the * symbol, all sites loaded correctly without any pop ups or blank advertising boxes.
^ Could not test if videos would load on Time.com since they are only available within the United States
^^ Some stuttering and lag was noted on certain searches. Issue was only present on the iPad
* Site did not load
** Site loaded correctly but clicking links on main page or subsequent page didn't work.
*** Site loaded correctly but did not block all ad(s) on main page or subsequent site pages.
**** Site did not correctly load all non ad page elements (e.g. pictures, video, text etc.)
***** Site loaded correctly with no ads or pop ups. Empty advertisement blocks were noted.
****** Site loaded correctly but did not stop pop up messages or redirects
Speed - B+
Magic's speed seemed to be better than most, but not quite as good as others. I feel like some other blockers such as Purify might be a bit faster than Magic, but only by a very small margin. Generally I haven't had too many instances where a website would hang during loading (except for the bloated mess that is The Verge) and in cases where that did happen, it seemed to be caused more by my connection rather than the app.
Again, your mileage may vary. Speed is less important to me, especially if you're only talking around 1-2 seconds difference (by feel), and how well websites load is the far more important metric to me.
Price and developer contact - A+
The app was free upon release and as of the time of this review, is still free. There is literally no reason to not download this app now and give it a whirl before it eventually becomes a paid app.
I did contact the developer prior to release and secured a beta code, which I used for well over a week prior to the official release. During that time, I reported all my issues trough direct messages on Twitter. The dev was extremely responsive and would give me updates that they were still working on issues or whenever issues were fixed; he even proactively messaged me on a few occasions asking if I had come across any additional issues. So far, I must say that the developer contact has been the most impressive part of this app.
As of now, reporting issues must be done via email, which may be a hassle for some individuals. The developer has promised to make some changes so reports can be made anonymously without the need for email, since not everyone uses the default Apple mail app.
Overall rating - A
Magic has done very well and even having tried over half a dozen blockers already, I would have to say that it ranks extremely highly. The app has worked very well since launch, though that might be due to my time reporting issues during the beta, but regardless of that it is quite a full-featured and polished app upon release. Most features that people will likely want such as whitelisting are available, and it also has toggles for EU cookie blockers and even a regional setting.
The one thing I would like to see the developer change soon is the way the app updates its blocklist. Currently you have to open the app and update the list manually, which is not optimal. For one, it's hard to know when you need to do so and right now it takes longer than I would like. I would like to see some type of background update system like what Crystal and Purify currently have and I have little doubt that the same feature will make its way into Magic sooner rather than later.
Magic is not quite "set it and forget it" as something like Adblock Fast, nor is it as customizable as something 1blocker, but it strikes a good middle ground between these extremes and the developer is committed to adding more features to the app in the future. As stated before several times, one should not expect a perfect app out of the gate that will work flawlessly; Magic did not do this and it still isn't perfect. To me, being diligent in reporting issues and having an active and responsive developer are what matter most as improvements can only be made with these two factors working in tandem.
With that being said, I have no qualms about fully recommending Magic to anyone looking for a content blocker. It has been my daily driver for the past three weeks and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
Magic Adblock - Block Ads. Browse Magic Fast. by Simon Moghimi
App design - A
Magic is pretty simple and straight-forward. You enable the app in Settings under Safari -> Content Blockers and you're good to go. By default, Magic only has the "Block Ads" feature turned on but additional functions are available to be enabled at the user's discretion. They are as follow:
The options provided for the user are fairly robust. You can locate the dev's Twitter account, website and email within the 'About' section if you would like to learn more or need to contact the dev. You have the ability to whitelist websites from here, but there is also a Safari shortcut for whitelisting websites without having to open the app every single time you want to do that.
More features will be coming in future updates according to the dev, but even now it is quite fully featured. You don't have the same customizability as a blocker like 1blocker, but that's why you have choices.
Blocking power - A
In my experience, Magic has done what it has advertised and set out to do. As always, your mileage may vary and my experience may not be representative of everyone's. I also did not test it on nearly as many websites as BGG usually does and not all the same websites.
Some websites such as Ars Technica and IGN originally had blank ad boxes on pages, but were quickly fixed within moments of reporting them to the dev through Twitter. Subjectively speaking, I have had far fewer issues with websites bring broken using Magic compared to other content blockers.
The following websites were tested: Time Magazine^, CNN, Yahoo******, MacRumors, Amazon^^, Fox News****, Huffington Post, iMore, The Verge, The Wall Street Journal, Kat.cr, MacWorld**, Apple, ImDB, Reddit, MLB.com****, NBA.com, NFL.com, NHL.com, Giant Bomb, Team Liquid, Anandtech, Ars Technica, iOSnoops.com, Mangastream, Mangareader, Techradar, GameSpot****, IGN
Unless otherwise noted by the * symbol, all sites loaded correctly without any pop ups or blank advertising boxes.
^ Could not test if videos would load on Time.com since they are only available within the United States
^^ Some stuttering and lag was noted on certain searches. Issue was only present on the iPad
* Site did not load
** Site loaded correctly but clicking links on main page or subsequent page didn't work.
*** Site loaded correctly but did not block all ad(s) on main page or subsequent site pages.
**** Site did not correctly load all non ad page elements (e.g. pictures, video, text etc.)
***** Site loaded correctly with no ads or pop ups. Empty advertisement blocks were noted.
****** Site loaded correctly but did not stop pop up messages or redirects
Speed - B+
Magic's speed seemed to be better than most, but not quite as good as others. I feel like some other blockers such as Purify might be a bit faster than Magic, but only by a very small margin. Generally I haven't had too many instances where a website would hang during loading (except for the bloated mess that is The Verge) and in cases where that did happen, it seemed to be caused more by my connection rather than the app.
Again, your mileage may vary. Speed is less important to me, especially if you're only talking around 1-2 seconds difference (by feel), and how well websites load is the far more important metric to me.
Price and developer contact - A+
The app was free upon release and as of the time of this review, is still free. There is literally no reason to not download this app now and give it a whirl before it eventually becomes a paid app.
I did contact the developer prior to release and secured a beta code, which I used for well over a week prior to the official release. During that time, I reported all my issues trough direct messages on Twitter. The dev was extremely responsive and would give me updates that they were still working on issues or whenever issues were fixed; he even proactively messaged me on a few occasions asking if I had come across any additional issues. So far, I must say that the developer contact has been the most impressive part of this app.
As of now, reporting issues must be done via email, which may be a hassle for some individuals. The developer has promised to make some changes so reports can be made anonymously without the need for email, since not everyone uses the default Apple mail app.
Overall rating - A
Magic has done very well and even having tried over half a dozen blockers already, I would have to say that it ranks extremely highly. The app has worked very well since launch, though that might be due to my time reporting issues during the beta, but regardless of that it is quite a full-featured and polished app upon release. Most features that people will likely want such as whitelisting are available, and it also has toggles for EU cookie blockers and even a regional setting.
The one thing I would like to see the developer change soon is the way the app updates its blocklist. Currently you have to open the app and update the list manually, which is not optimal. For one, it's hard to know when you need to do so and right now it takes longer than I would like. I would like to see some type of background update system like what Crystal and Purify currently have and I have little doubt that the same feature will make its way into Magic sooner rather than later.
Magic is not quite "set it and forget it" as something like Adblock Fast, nor is it as customizable as something 1blocker, but it strikes a good middle ground between these extremes and the developer is committed to adding more features to the app in the future. As stated before several times, one should not expect a perfect app out of the gate that will work flawlessly; Magic did not do this and it still isn't perfect. To me, being diligent in reporting issues and having an active and responsive developer are what matter most as improvements can only be made with these two factors working in tandem.
With that being said, I have no qualms about fully recommending Magic to anyone looking for a content blocker. It has been my daily driver for the past three weeks and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future.
wchigo, thanks for the review. It's very helpful! I don't mean to disrespect you or your review but since BasicGreatGuy has done the reviews for all previous content blockers, I would like to know if he can assess Magic Adblocker too. I think he can make a better comparison with the other ones he already reviewed.
Of course, I don't know how many other blockers you tried wchigo, which can make my remark totally useless.
BasicGreatGuy, which is your favorite at the moment? Or which one do you use everyday?
Also, is there a topic around here about the content blockers for Safari? I haven't found any.
Of course, I don't know how many other blockers you tried wchigo, which can make my remark totally useless.
BasicGreatGuy, which is your favorite at the moment? Or which one do you use everyday?
Also, is there a topic around here about the content blockers for Safari? I haven't found any.
No offence taken at all. I wasn't actually planning to do a review up until I actually did one since BasicGreatGuy has done a fantastic job of them up till now. However, it seems perhaps real life or other factors are keeping him busy as he hasn't really stopped by lately, so consider it more of a "user review" that you might find versus the "professional review."
As stated in the review, I've tried around half a dozen: Purify, Crystal, Adblocker, Adblock Fast, Ad Block Multi and Refine are the ones I can name off the top of my head. BGG has tried probably 2-3 times that amount though, so that's not saying a lot, haha.
There is a content blocker thread here that's over 100 pages now. Good luck going through all the mate!
Which one will you continue using?
I haven't been clear enough in my previous post, what I am looking for is a thread in which OS X content blockers are discussed. There are not only content blockers for iOS Safari but also for OS X Safari in the form of an extension.
I haven't been clear enough in my previous post, what I am looking for is a thread in which OS X content blockers are discussed. There are not only content blockers for iOS Safari but also for OS X Safari in the form of an extension.
At this point in time, definitely Magic. It's not without its faults but thus far it is the one that works the best for the sites I visit.
Purify was what I was using before but it broke functionality in too many sites I frequented and the dev was pretty unresponsive to posts here or even apparently on Twitter. Sites that I reported in two to three different versions of the app never got fixed either.
Adblocker by Mobotap, which seems to have recently been renamed Umbra, worked fairly well but was barebones when it came to features. The updated version has apparently changed that so I might revisit it at some point.
Ah, apologies. I believe there is one but it's not that active... Yep, here it is.
Better is honestly such a subjective term. There's so many factors to consider when comparing any two things versus each other that it's difficult to give an answer that can apply to everyone for everything at any time.
With that being said, for me personally, Magic is better than Purify due to a number of reasons. Magic works better with all the sites I visit on a regular basis and generally I've had a much better experience with receiving feedback from the developer and having issues that I reported actually get fixed. On the other hand, I will admit that [based on feel, I've not actually timed them] Purify seems to load sites faster, broken or otherwise, and updating the blocklist is much easier since it will do so automatically for you in the background.
I've gone back to try Purify now and again since I first started testing Magic around three weeks ago but all the sites that I had reported broken still remain broken, so personally I'm pretty soured on that app. I'll perhaps give it one more try after an update but I'm not expecting anything to change really. Aside from Purify, I previously had a decent experience with Adblocker from MoboTap (the guys who made the Dolphin browser), which received an update recently that included a name change to Umbra. So it's likely that at some point I will revisit Purify, Umbra and maybe try Adguard and see how those experiences stack up.
Hope that somewhat answers your query. Cheers