Have you already been issued the refund? I'm awaiting for my request to be granted...
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The iOS 9 Content Blocker thread
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Have you already been issued the refund? I'm awaiting for my request to be granted...
I bought both Purify and Peace. After using Peace for a few hours and noticing that it blocked legit content, I tried Purify again. Purify is blocking content appropriately without any effort on my part.
I also "bought" (free) Crystal and tested it as well. Worked a bit better than Peace, but still blocked legit content on a few sites.
I highly recommend Purify.
I also "bought" (free) Crystal and tested it as well. Worked a bit better than Peace, but still blocked legit content on a few sites.
I highly recommend Purify.
what compelling reasons can you offer, that would makes buying Purify over Crystal worth it?
Other than the obvious whitelist feature? As I mentioned, Purify doesn't block legitimate links and content on a few sites I use, while Crystal does.
Purify also seems to handle "white space" better than Crystal (e.g. On Macrumors front page where ads become blocked).
I think I'm going to give Purify a try. Waiting for my Peace refund. Thanks for your feedback.
Well that just flat out sucks.
To date I've had no problems getting refunds from Apple (knock on wood), but then again, off hand, I can think of only three instances where that has even been necessary.
Hope it works out for you without too much hassle.
To date I've had no problems getting refunds from Apple (knock on wood), but then again, off hand, I can think of only three instances where that has even been necessary.
Hope it works out for you without too much hassle.
I think the difference right now is that we're trying to get refunds on something that we might have been charged for yet. It's easier to get the refund once you've been charged.
Regardless, can't help but feel like Marco is laughing at the possibility of having all this money for a dead app.
We should give the man the benefit of the doubt. We don't know what went on behind the scenes, it would be illogical to make an assumption without having all of the information. He twice posted links to the refund process, so he was at least trying to help.
No, not at all. Really makes his whole schtick about getting refunds for his decision just a token gesture as he knows most of these haven't been processed yet.
I can make the assumptions that I want. So far, it's all been a token gesture to save face.
Full disclosure: I have previously made my feelings known about the lack of in app feedback in Purify, as well as price, amongst other peripheral issues related to said app. My feelings on the matter haven't changed. I did purchase the app a little while ago, because I felt the need to be fair to all testing clients despite whatever personal preference feelings I may have with some of the apps. I wanted to be able to give my fellow forum members an honest review and I felt that I wasn't able to do that, unless I added Purify to the list of apps I have bought and or are beta testing.
For those who have asked what may be the best out of the box app at this moment in time, I have to be honest and say Purify wins the contest. It has been able to block sponsored ads, as well as handle script and media assignment, without ruining the essence of the webpage or failing to block that which should have been blocked to begin with. I have tested several sites including Macworld, The Verge, CNN, The New York Times, Ebaums World, Kat.cr, The Pirate..., Yahoo, Courier.co.uk, iMore, and several others. The only site thus far that Purify did not have a handle on was the The Pirate... Load times were fast. I did not get the stopwatch out and count and compare to other related apps. I have not noticed any empty white placement boxes. YouTube ads were blocked albeit there was a slight delay with the start of the video because of filtering out ad(s).
If you are looking for an app (at this moment) that you don't have to tweak, is easy to maneuver, are ok with having to hunt down the developer to provide feedback, don't mind paying $3.99, and does a good job of filtering out sponsored ads and the like while offering a few user toggles including Whitelisting, Purify (at this moment) is one that you should look into.
Grade A
In second place is Crystal. I find the app well designed and easy to maneuver. I also like the ease of the in app feedback ability for reporting sites and offering opinion. I have made a few reports in the last two days and am looking forward to seeing the block list fine tuned. For those who want the Whitelisting feature, Crystal does not currently have the feature, nor does it have user toggle options to fine tune script, media and social content. At the moment, it cannot block sponsored ads nor does it handle media scripting as well as Purify. I ran Crystal through the same website list as Purify and it did not do as good a job in script blocking and media as Purify. At the same time, you may not traverse the same sites as I do. As such, you may not have any problems with Crystal, if you are looking for a load it and forget about it kind of app, and you are willing to be patient as Crystal matures, this may be the app for you. In my opinion, Dean's attitude and work ethic says a lot about him and it shows in his app, in my opinion. While Crystal may not be as strong out of the box (at this moment) as Purify, I see Crystal headed in the same direction. It is just a matter of time. I also think Crystal's pricing is much better than Purify's.
Dean has stated on Twitter, that the Whitelisting option is coming to Crystal, albeit he did not place a concrete timeline on that feature.
Grade B
Since people have been asking about these two apps, I wanted to provide a very brief review of each one, so that some of you could make a better informed decision. Keep in mind, that things could, and probably will change, in regards to the strengths and weaknesses of each app.
I will be commenting on other apps as we go along.
For those who have asked what may be the best out of the box app at this moment in time, I have to be honest and say Purify wins the contest. It has been able to block sponsored ads, as well as handle script and media assignment, without ruining the essence of the webpage or failing to block that which should have been blocked to begin with. I have tested several sites including Macworld, The Verge, CNN, The New York Times, Ebaums World, Kat.cr, The Pirate..., Yahoo, Courier.co.uk, iMore, and several others. The only site thus far that Purify did not have a handle on was the The Pirate... Load times were fast. I did not get the stopwatch out and count and compare to other related apps. I have not noticed any empty white placement boxes. YouTube ads were blocked albeit there was a slight delay with the start of the video because of filtering out ad(s).
If you are looking for an app (at this moment) that you don't have to tweak, is easy to maneuver, are ok with having to hunt down the developer to provide feedback, don't mind paying $3.99, and does a good job of filtering out sponsored ads and the like while offering a few user toggles including Whitelisting, Purify (at this moment) is one that you should look into.
Grade A
In second place is Crystal. I find the app well designed and easy to maneuver. I also like the ease of the in app feedback ability for reporting sites and offering opinion. I have made a few reports in the last two days and am looking forward to seeing the block list fine tuned. For those who want the Whitelisting feature, Crystal does not currently have the feature, nor does it have user toggle options to fine tune script, media and social content. At the moment, it cannot block sponsored ads nor does it handle media scripting as well as Purify. I ran Crystal through the same website list as Purify and it did not do as good a job in script blocking and media as Purify. At the same time, you may not traverse the same sites as I do. As such, you may not have any problems with Crystal, if you are looking for a load it and forget about it kind of app, and you are willing to be patient as Crystal matures, this may be the app for you. In my opinion, Dean's attitude and work ethic says a lot about him and it shows in his app, in my opinion. While Crystal may not be as strong out of the box (at this moment) as Purify, I see Crystal headed in the same direction. It is just a matter of time. I also think Crystal's pricing is much better than Purify's.
Dean has stated on Twitter, that the Whitelisting option is coming to Crystal, albeit he did not place a concrete timeline on that feature.
Grade B
Since people have been asking about these two apps, I wanted to provide a very brief review of each one, so that some of you could make a better informed decision. Keep in mind, that things could, and probably will change, in regards to the strengths and weaknesses of each app.
I will be commenting on other apps as we go along.
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Wow! That was awesome and very well done!
Thanks so much for providing this excellent feedback!
Lots of informaion on Crystal in this thread: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/the-ios-9-content-blocker-thread.1916783/
It's awesome and it's the best dollar you will have ever spent on the App Store. It makes safari on my 6 plus useable again.
Priced at $0.99 (introductory pricing), Blockr is another content blocker geared towards those who want to have a little more control over what is blocked (or not) than Purify and Crystal. It comes with toggled settings for Ad Blocker, Media Blocker, Privacy Blocker and Cookie Warning Blocker. Each one of these toggles is available for Whitelisting. Like Crystal, Blocker has in app feedback ability. It also has a separate option for sending feedback, tutorial and rating.
At the moment, Blockr is not able to block sponsored ads like Purify. I put Blockr through the same kind of testing as with the previous reviews. With all three toggles enabled, websites are overly stripped and (as a whole) do not load as they should. With the Media toggle turned off, a lot of websites do not load as they should. For those who care about speed, website loading is slightly slower than with Crystal and Purify respectively. There doesn’t appear to be much middle of the road with content blocking with Blockr. It tends to overly sanitize the internet with toggles enabled. It is possible, that by testing toggle combinations, one might find a setting that works for most website browsing. Developer response is good.
In my opinion, this content blocker is geared towards those who want more of a sanitized internet, and aren’t as concerned about the looks of every website loaded. If you don’t fit this profile, this app might be used in conjunction with one of the weaker content blockers. Although Blockr boasts several strong user controlled features and has potential to be much stronger, it ends up being weaker out of the box, compared to Crystal and Purify.
This review was made using the latest Blockr beta.
As noted in the other reviews, your usage and experience may differ than mine, depending on websites visited, internet speed, and other variables. My reviews should not be interpreted as one size fits all.
Grade C
At the moment, Blockr is not able to block sponsored ads like Purify. I put Blockr through the same kind of testing as with the previous reviews. With all three toggles enabled, websites are overly stripped and (as a whole) do not load as they should. With the Media toggle turned off, a lot of websites do not load as they should. For those who care about speed, website loading is slightly slower than with Crystal and Purify respectively. There doesn’t appear to be much middle of the road with content blocking with Blockr. It tends to overly sanitize the internet with toggles enabled. It is possible, that by testing toggle combinations, one might find a setting that works for most website browsing. Developer response is good.
In my opinion, this content blocker is geared towards those who want more of a sanitized internet, and aren’t as concerned about the looks of every website loaded. If you don’t fit this profile, this app might be used in conjunction with one of the weaker content blockers. Although Blockr boasts several strong user controlled features and has potential to be much stronger, it ends up being weaker out of the box, compared to Crystal and Purify.
This review was made using the latest Blockr beta.
As noted in the other reviews, your usage and experience may differ than mine, depending on websites visited, internet speed, and other variables. My reviews should not be interpreted as one size fits all.
Grade C
I just paid for Crystal and used it on a ad heavy site. It worked like a charm. This is a god send for older devices like my mini 2 which cannot handle ad heavy sites without slowing down.
Am I the only one who downloaded it for free from the Appstore when it went up?