The iOS 9 Content Blocker thread

[SoYoung]

just tried it, its still working without opening the app again. i have background refresh off for everything as well which means i have to open the app to check for block list updates

Thanks! Crystal helps alot with web browsing! Web pages load so much faster now on my 6+! That feature alone makes me happy with iOS9.

 

[Yun0]

With background refresh off (and if you don't leave it always in the app switcher) you will have to open the app for it occasionally to get any new versions of the block list. Just as a note.

i know, i want it manually done intentionally. i never use background refresh on anything

 

[Arline]

Is there any content blocker that allows you to import custom Adblock Plus filter lists?

 

[anshuvorty]

I know this may seem strange, but this instant desire to install content blockers on day 1 reminds me of day 1 last year when everyone wanted to install 3rd party keyboards for the 1st time...just saying....

 

[EdgardasB]

Is there any content blocker that allows you to import custom Adblock Plus filter lists?

1blocker

 

[Arline]

1blocker

How? the my.1blocker.com website didn't accept an Adblock Plus filter list that I gave it...

 

[jamesdunn72]

so I just tried Crystal, 1Blocker, Peace, Blockr

The site I used to test is a torrent site Kat.cr

The clear winner in the 4 I tried was Crystal and it is free. 1Blocker, Peace and Blockr didnt block anything on that site.

I paid $2.99 and $0.99 for Peace and Blockr, wasted my money.

None of these blocked the top ad on FinViz.com

So dont waste your time and money, just download Crystal before it becomes a paid app. and Enjoy

 

[Sparxxx]

Well... stupid question:
Is it possible to have more than one content blocker active? Let's say Peace, Purify and Crystal?.
Would the blocking rules of all blocker be applied? .

Thanks

 

[synonys]

I'm using crystal and I'm just glad to finally have ad block on a mobile platform.

 

[jamesdunn72]

Well... stupid question:
Is it possible to have more than one content blocker active? Let's say Peace, Purify and Crystal?.
Would the blocking rules of all blocker be applied? .

Thanks

yes you can, but then again, you'll make safari work even harder to block content and the experience will degrade

 

[Sparxxx]

Ok, thanks. Not sure how much slower it will get.
I have tried all content blockers out there (well the most common): Crystal, Purify, 1Blocker, Blocker and Peace.

Most ads are blocked with Crystal, hands down.
I hope he will add more features:
- Ghostery filters
- ability to add custom filters (adblock or easylist)

For now I might keep Crystal AND Peace enabled (due to Ghostery filters).

Thanks

 

[bandofbrothers]

yes you can, but then again, you'll make safari work even harder to block content and the experience will degrade

Does the Crystal app have to be launched so it's in the background for it to work ?

 

[Sparxxx]

Only if you want the latest filter udates.

My blocklist version is not automatically updating?
The blocklist auto-update feature relies on Background Fetch being turned on in the main Settings app, and Crystal is not force quit through the multitasking launcher.
If you would like to update the blocklist manually, you can do this by opening the Crystal app. Every time it launches, it automatically checks and updates to the latest blocklist.

 

[lagwagon]

Does the Crystal app have to be launched so it's in the background for it to work ?

You only need it in the background and with background refresh in order for it to auto update the block list. However you can just open the app from time to time and it will update that way as well.

 

[KALLT]

yes you can, but then again, you'll make safari work even harder to block content and the experience will degrade

I am not sure whether that is necessarily true. Safari is compiling the block lists into bytecode itself only once (and again when a block list changes) and the WebKit team explained that Safari will also optimise the code for efficiency. Developers have no control over this. It may be possible that Safari will compile all block lists together and weed out duplicates for maximum efficiency. This is Apple after all, they want to make the user experience as smooth as possible without impacting performance.

That being said, if it would not be a good idea for another reason: some apps let you whitelist sites or modify blocking behaviour. I am not sure what Safari does when block lists conflict.

 

[benh911f]

One issue I found with Crystal:
On both the Redsox.com and MLB.com websites, when you click on a video clip to watch, it loads a blank page instead of the videos. It appears to me that it loads the desktop site on iPhone, but there are no videos to click. After I turned it off, the problem went away.
The first image is the main site, the second is what you normally see when clicking on a video clip, the third is what you see when clicking on a clip with Crystal enabled.

 

[Mercifull]

Crystal (I was registered as beta tester in TestFlight) but still having to load some pages without blocker enabled due to page loading failures. I've reported them to the developer.

 

[pearvsapple]

Some youtube vids ads are blocked but you still gotta wait for the ad video time to finish.

 

[KALLT]

One issue I found with Crystal:
On both the Redsox.com and MLB.com websites, when you click on a video clip to watch, it loads a blank page instead of the videos. It appears to me that it loads the desktop site on iPhone, but there are no videos to click. After I turned it off, the problem went away.
The first image is the main site, the second is what you normally see when clicking on a video clip, the third is what you see when clicking on a clip with Crystal enabled.

View attachment 582232
View attachment 582233
View attachment 582234

You can reload a webpage without content blockers enabled by tapping and holding the reload button in the address bar.

 

[Richardgm]

Weird, I still see ads using Crystal.

Edit: I had to turn it off and on again.

 

[NoWayBehind]

Most ads are blocked with Crystal, hands down.
I hope he will add more features:
- Ghostery filters
- ability to add custom filters (adblock or easylist)

For now I might keep Crystal AND Peace enabled (due to Ghostery filters).

Thanks

I'm actually doing the same. Tested for a few hours and this seems to be the ideal option at the moment. Didn't experience any loading increases with the 2 instead of 1. I also have blockr, but the app doesn't add anything if you have the 2 enabled

 

[Sparxxx]

Yep. Crystal + Peace seems a good combo.
For the moment it's still the beginning of those content blockers and in the near future (3-4 months) I am sure we will see some good update or new players (adblock, ublock, perhaps ad.guard and ghostery itself).

 

[msephton]

yes you can, but then again, you'll make safari work even harder to block content and the experience will degrade

Content Blockers take milliseconds to run, so multiple blockers won't affect performance noticeably.

I'm also not sure how conflicts in rules will be handled. I suspect whitelist will override all other rules regardless of blocker it came from.

 

[happycadaver]

I'm also using Crystal+Peace for the moment. Bought Blockr as well, just for supporting the developer.

 

[inscrewtable]

For a 4" iPod Touch screen, does 'Crystal' do anything that 'Blockr' does not do?