The iOS 9 Content Blocker thread

[Ladybug]

I'm sticking with Purify. So far I have no reason to doubt the developer. Purify still works and I'm not seeing any ads except for the few sites I whitelisted. It matters not to me the amount he was offered or who doctored what email, as long as he doesn't sell out then Purify will be my choice for ad blockers.

 

[MrGuder]

Do you think these websites (actually all websites) will eventually find a way to not allow these ad blocker apps to block ads on their websites, meaning now that ios9 has allowed this feature will websites catch on and do something in their script to foil the ad blockers to cause them to force the ads to our devices?

 

[ardchoille50]

Do you think these websites (actually all websites) will eventually find a way to not allow these ad blocker apps to block ads on their websites, meaning now that ios9 has allowed this feature will websites catch on and do something in their script to foil the ad blockers to cause them to force the ads to our devices?

This recent panic is just a rehash of when ad blocking became available on desktop machines years ago. The Internet survived ad blocking then and it will survive it now.

 

[C DM]

Do you think these websites (actually all websites) will eventually find a way to not allow these ad blocker apps to block ads on their websites, meaning now that ios9 has allowed this feature will websites catch on and do something in their script to foil the ad blockers to cause them to force the ads to our devices?

Seems like some have started something along those lines: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/the-ios-9-content-blocker-thread.1916783/page-85#post-22076005

 

[Ladybug]

Do you think these websites (actually all websites) will eventually find a way to not allow these ad blocker apps to block ads on their websites, meaning now that ios9 has allowed this feature will websites catch on and do something in their script to foil the ad blockers to cause them to force the ads to our devices?

I'm sure they will keep trying to get around our ad blockers and they will probably succeed in many instances. Computers have had ad blocking for years. Ads on mobile must be very lucrative for them to be in such a panic. The one thing they can't get around is if we just stop visiting those sites that insist on getting around our blockers.

 

[Floris]

A great start, but all the sites either a) showing ads again, or b) stopped working, until you turn CB off.
At least, the sites I frequent.

 

[ardchoille50]

The one thing they can't get around is if we just stop visiting those sites that insist on getting around our blockers.

Yep, the web provides such a variety that no single website is the only game in town.

 

[rijc99]

A great start, but all the sites either a) showing ads again, or b) stopped working, until you turn CB off.
At least, the sites I frequent.

Which sites?

 

[rnbwd]

It's actually a double-edged sword. Websites only infer the presence of content blockers by indirect means, yet they can intentionally break the functionality of their own site easily. Desktop extensions can bypass some of these barriers because of their ability to mix and match with the front-end of a website, while safari's content blockers exist mainly 'behind the scenes'. It's why there's such a performance boost, but at the same time I'm not sure if the API is capable of bypassing the ad-blocking detection.

 

[Rigby]

Do you think these websites (actually all websites) will eventually find a way to not allow these ad blocker apps to block ads on their websites, meaning now that ios9 has allowed this feature will websites catch on and do something in their script to foil the ad blockers to cause them to force the ads to our devices?

This cat and mouse game has been going on for a while. The advertisers try to implement counter measures, and the blockers develop specialized block lists to block the adblock blockers. Ad Block Multi, for example, has an "anti-adblock killer" filter.

On the other side, there are entire startups dedicated to developing solutions to circumvent or block adblockers, e.g. this one.

 

[MrGuder]

This cat and mouse game has been going on for a while. The advertisers try to implement counter measures, and the blockers develop specialized block lists to block the adblock blockers. Ad Block Multi, for example, has an "anti-adblock killer" filter.

On the other side, there are entire startups dedicated to developing solutions to circumvent or block adblockers, e.g. this one.

I suspect there is a lot of money at stake here thus why I prompted this question.

 

[yep-sure]

I installed Purify on my iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 and it worked great. However, now for some reason, I can't seem to get it working at all on my iPhone 6S.

 

[chrismatic]

I installed Purify on my iPhone 6 and iPad Air 2 and it worked great. However, now for some reason, I can't seem to get it working at all on my iPhone 6S.

Can you please make sure you don't have any "blank" whitelist entries — those would cause the issue.

 

[yep-sure]

Can you please make sure you don't have any "blank" whitelist entries — those would cause the issue.

My whitelist is empty.

I'll try the classic delete and resintall of the app and report back.

 

[yep-sure]

The delete and reinstall did the trick. I should have tried that before my original post.

 

[Swampbaby985]

Is there a way to block Google, Yahoo and Facebook ads? I have the app "Been Choice" still installed on my phone before Apple pulled it from the App Store. That app used to block ads in Facebook, Google as well as Yahoo. When I contacted the developer of the app he said that they've disabled blocking of those ads.

 

[Floris]

Is there a way to block Google, Yahoo and Facebook ads? I have the app "Been Choice" still installed on my phone before Apple pulled it from the App Store. That app used to block ads in Facebook, Google as well as Yahoo. When I contacted the developer of the app he said that they've disabled blocking of those ads.

They are probably served over https

 

[Swampbaby985]

They are probably served over https

The app "Been Choice" would require you to set up a VPN so all website data as well as app data would be sent to their servers and then the ads would be filtered out. You'd view the filtered out content on the apps and websites. I contacted the app developer and they say that personal identifiable info was not being saved.

 

[Floris]

The app "Been Choice" would reqyyou to set up a VPN so all website data as well as app data would be sent to their servers and then the ads would be filtered out. You'd view the filtered out content on the apps and websites. I contacted the app developer and they say that personal identifiable info was not being saved.

Sounds like an app I would not install. Sorry, I will stick to Purify for now.

 

[Rigby]

Is there a way to block Google, Yahoo and Facebook ads?

If you mean ads in their apps, then no, there is no safe way to do this. Their web site ads can of course be blocked by any of the browser extensions discussed here.

The app "Been Choice" would reqyyou to set up a VPN so all website data as well as app data would be sent to their servers and then the ads would be filtered out. You'd view the filtered out content on the apps and websites. I contacted the app developer and they say that personal identifiable info was not being saved.

They broke the SSL encryption of your traffic after installing a custom root certificate on your device, which means they were potentially able to read everything including passwords you entered etc.. That's why Apple pulled the app. I would dump that app and change all affected passwords if I were you.

 

[ardchoille50]

If you mean ads in their apps, then no, there is no safe way to do this.

I would love to see Apple force all apps to use Safari View Controller, then the content blockers would work for all apps.

 

[gaanee]

Aren't those in-app ads are served by Apple's iAd platform? Apple gets a share of ad revenue, why would they block their own iAd?

I would love to see Apple force all apps to use Safari View Controller, then the content blockers would work for all apps.

 

[ardchoille50]

Aren't those in-app ads are served by Apple's iAd platform? Apple gets a share of ad revenue, why would they block their own iAd?

All the more reason that it's doubtful Apple would force Safari View Controller. Also, the News app.

 

[Rigby]

Aren't those in-app ads are served by Apple's iAd platform? Apple gets a share of ad revenue, why would they block their own iAd?

iAd ads can be displayed independently of a web view, so blocking stuff in the Safari View Controller does not affect iAds anyway.

 

[ardchoille50]

iAd ads can be displayed independently of a web view, so blocking stuff in the Safari View Controller does not affect iAds anyway.

Ah, that's good to know. Thank you.