Ah, thanks. That part wasn't very explicitly described in the iOS 9 review I was reading. Will do so now. Appreciate the response ...
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The iOS 9 Content Blocker thread
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Ah, thanks. That part wasn't very explicitly described in the iOS 9 review I was reading. Will do so now. Appreciate the response ...
silentium looks interesting, with a decent amount of features to block ads and tracking, while freedom seems like a regular ad blocker, similar to crystal.
Purify is clearly the best ad blocker. It blocks sponsored & regular ads. Sites like yahoo.com & theverge.com & other sites, it still blocks sponsored compared to Peace & other ad blockers. Its worth the $3.99.
You'll have to find out yourself.It all depends on the filter lists that they use and the sites you visit. Unfortunately the developers of these apps are not transparent about where they source their lists and it's not possible to view them in the apps, so all we have is anecdotal feedback (which obviously depends a lot on what sites people visit).
The developer of Peace says he uses the Ghostery list, and I think 1Blocker actually let's you see its list in the app.
OK, so far they seem to block the same content but Blockr is more useful as it has separate media and ad blocking and separate whitelisting for both as well. I can't tell yet which blocker is better for tracking and analytics blocking. That is what I really want.
No in app feedback is a big negative.
I hope some independent testing is undertaken. It would be nice to see how all these apps compare.
Even if one blocker is better than the other right now, doesn't mean it can't change next week when the filter lists are updated (or not). I think this is what will separate the wheat from the chaff: Which developer will invest the time to keep the filter list well maintained and updated over the long term? In that sense, the approach of licensing a well-regarded existing list (like the one from Ghostery) is probably not the worst idea (as opposed to a one-man shop trying to maintain a proprietary list) ...
This is the best feature in Crystal. User feedback is the key in this kind of apps.
For me, Crystal may not be the best app today, but it will be the best in a few weeks/months.
I haven't tested those two, so I can't comment. However, just now, that sometimes when you see a white box, that may not necessarily be the fault of the content blocker. It could very well be due to how the site was designed etc.
Where is the in app feedback ability in the app? On his website for Purify, the developer claims to care about user experience. And yet, made a conscious decision not to have feedback ability as part of the app. If someone needs to get in touch with the developer, he or she has to hunt for his email address and explain the app situation without any app logs being provided etc. Seems rather odd to me. Not everyone has Twitter nor should they have to sign up on Twitter to try and get in contact with the developer, who seems more concerned about pimping his product on Twitter, than providing a reasonable and logical manner for users to provide feedback and ask questions. His site doesn't even bother explaining the app in detail or providing a list to possible frequently asked questions. It is mostly shiny decorations with him dangling a carrot before a horse. His site is nothing more than a fancy ad for his Purify app. He isn't coming across as user focused or user friendly. He comes across as a salesman trying to pimp for dollars. If some here are fine with that, so be it. I believe there is a lot more to an app than what it looks like or claims. A person's actions say a lot. And in my opinion, his actions aren't living up to his claimed concern for positive user experience. I don't see much reason to spend $3.99 with that kind of leadership going on.
You misread my post. Read it again without the snide laughing.
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deeznuts - I've seen you say this in multiple threads. You have some stake in this app I assume. "clearly" and "hands down" the best huh?
So I'm running BlockParty (compiled under XCode) on a iPhone 5. The developer, Krishna Kumar, is very responsive and walked me through the process of compiling it.
It works very well, blocking ads on all the pages mentioned in this thread. I don't have benchmarks but I don't perceive any lag when it's enabled. Makes me very curious as to why Apple is restricting content blockers to 64 bit machines.
It works very well, blocking ads on all the pages mentioned in this thread. I don't have benchmarks but I don't perceive any lag when it's enabled. Makes me very curious as to why Apple is restricting content blockers to 64 bit machines.
I agree. It is a great feature. I am impressed with Dean's business ethic and app thus far. He makes himself available to people online. He answers questions and provided a mechanism in his app to help facilitate that need. And him reducing the price of the app from what he was projecting says a lot to me.
So, Purify has the above mentioned problem with devs. Peace, on the other hand, uses Ghosterly which has practices I can't support (http://lifehacker.com/ad-blocking-extension-ghostery-actually-sells-data-to-a-514417864).
I think Blockr or Crystal for me. Which is better? I see Crystal being mentioned a lot.
I think Blockr or Crystal for me. Which is better? I see Crystal being mentioned a lot.
Another good (free) ad blocker in the store is called Freedom. He is still accepting beta testers, if you are interested.
I have been beta testing Blockr and it does well. I like that it has several options. It still needs to be fine tuned some more. We could say the same for all apps. 1Blocker is also another good ad blocker, in my opinion. It has lots of user toggle options with the ability for the user to easily create rules on the fly (if wanted). Developer response has been prompt as well.
I am currently beta testing Freedom and Blockr. I am using Crystal and 1Blocker together a lot of the time.
Thanks for the reply. I think I will go Crystal as I don't need the extra functionality of 1Blocker. I like me a simple adblocker.
Are you running it on a iPhone 5? I tried to beta test BlockParty under TestFlight but it didn't allow the app to run on a 32bit phone.
No, I have an iPhone 6. I didn't realize you had the iPhone 5. It is probably best you stay with what you have right now.
Good move. Don't forget to open the app once you install, so that it can load and update correctly.