9mo ago

What adblocker are you using on iOS?

I’ve finally picked up an iPhone about a month ago, and have been loving the experience.

However I’m now thrown into an ad-full world again (I used to have a browser blocking many if not most ads on the android), so I’m wondering, what adblockers do you use (may it be safari extension or entirely new browser for my fellow Europeans)?

54 comments

AdGuard Pro
- Same, very happy with it, blocks everything, and also includes VPN.
  Youtube ads are a bit tricky, but can also be blocked by opening videos through the AdGuard app.
  
  haven’t seen a youtube ad in safari using adguard free. would recommend
  
  AdGuard + Vinegar blocks YouTube ada quite well most of the time.
- Does it work for other browsers like Firefox?
  
  Sadly no.
- What’s the difference between the pro and non-pro version?
  
  I think you can't add custom rules in the free version or something.

Wipr because it has no subscription bs and has proper block lists for my country.
- This! Wipr on phone and Mac. Pi-Hole in my home network.
  And for annoyances there’s also Consent-O-Matic and SponsorBlock installed.
- I use Wipr in combination with NextDNS. For ads in Browsers and in Apps.
- Great model, just tips, so I tip when I notice an update

NextDNS is my latest approach and it’s working well.
- NextDNS is the best choice imho.
- Backing this post. NextDNS pretty much blocks everything, even ads in games. And in some games, you can tap the “watch ad to get X” and no ads show up, but you still get rewards.

A DNS ad filter on your home network to black hole the requests to ad servers is the only thing I’ve found to be effective on iOS. I tried the ad guard extension in safari but there were just way too many ads that didn’t get blocked

1Blocker, but there are probably better/cheaper ones out there.
For YouTube specifically I can recommend Vinegar.
- Don't know if it's better, but for free, Firefox Focus includes an ad-blocker for Safari.
  
  I love Firefox Focus! The safari integration is great!

AdGuard, and Vinegar for YouTube.
- Do Vinegar actually work? I tried it previously and it didn't do anything for me, tried it again now since it was mentioned and YouTube ads still appear in Safari..
  
  It works for me, it's a bit janky though because of YouTube's custom link handler. You have to either open videos in new tabs or reload the page after clicking the video for it to load correctly.
  Tbh I don't actually know if it's supposed to remove ads, I use it to get the better (Safari built in) video player that can do Picture in Picture and what not.
  
  Vinegar worked for me but I had issues with YouTube throttling it and the video constantly restarting

I like AdGuard Pro. You can use a lot of third-party blocklists with it - many of the same lists you can use with DNS-based blockers like Pi-Hole. AdGuard works as a safari extension, but you can also use it as DNS blocker to block ads in all apps. This can be done using the native iOS DNS management feature or by using a VPN.

Pi-Hole via VPN and Firefox Focus

AdGuard DNS is free and super simple to setup, no app required. It’s my favorite no-fuss solution I found when I switched from Android a few years ago.
https://adguard-dns.io/en/public-dns.html
Go to that link, scroll down to method 2, and download an iOS profile. You’ll need to be using Safari for the download to work properly.
You get more customization and features through AdGuard’s app but then you have to pay a subscription for DNS blocking features. While it’s super cheap, I’ve personally been perfectly satisfied with this free solution. It blocks ads system-wide, not just in the browser. For example, in my shopping list app there’s usually a banner ad but it doesn’t load with the adguard DNS enabled. I’m 99% sure it won’t block ads in YouTube though (I sub to premium so I’ve never tried it.)
Next DNS is also free and appears to be the same thing but their website lets you fine-tune your profile, similar to using paid AdGuard. Might be worth looking into that, especially because it appears you can integrate AdGuard’s block list.

AdGuard Pro. Blocks everything.

Redundant PiHoles on my home network and the iOS devices always run a WireGuard tunnel back to home.

I use a combination of PiHole via a VPN to my home server and Orion browser.
Its greatly improved my experience.

Proton VPN
- Yeah this is what I used when I had iphone
  Edit: I still use the same method on my pixel as well

Blokada - works without VPN.

1Blocker and Pi-hole.

I paid for 1Blocker (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/1blocker-ad-blocker/id1365531024) since it runs locally on my phone to block ads as well as trackers from other installed Apps, whether on my home WiFi, other WiFi, or cellular data. There's a whitelist feature and the filtering can be tailored. I've been using it for years (before I got my current phone) so I can't comment on battery life but I've never noticed it to be bad.
It does break some apps if they're not whitelisted but that just gives me more reason to decide if I really need the app. It's also possible to temporarily disable the blocking (5 minutes, 30 minutes, etc) which helps with logging in (since so many login services involve trackers).

i use Ghostery, works on Mac Safari also. Free and does the job

https://dnsforge.de

PiHole with a VPN on the phone that connects to the LAN with the pihole, so far fewer ads.
- How does that go battery wise?
  
  No negative affects. It operates like any cellular/wifi connection.

Eero’s home network ad blocker paired with AdGuard. Works well enough. Although so many people have blockers now that even my favorite sites, which I whitelist, are tough to read because of the amount of ads keeping them in business. ArsTechnica I’m looking at you. Yeah, I could subscribe but I’m a cheap bastard. I’d rather be able to retire than pay for a site.

I liked to use a three tiered approach…
Back when we could jailbreak our iPhones I’d use this and overwrite the system’s hosts file. I still use it on my Mac, even if I can’t on iOS anymore.
A VPN is an excellent solution, but when selecting one, you have to read the privacy policy and NOT give the policy the benefit of the doubt. I’ve seen a few that give themselves permission to share your info while making it sound reasonable. I use lockdown personally.
For Safari Extensions, 1Blocker is what ai currently use.

Firefox Focus with strict mode

I really like Orion browser. Allows you to use Firefox extensions(and chrome), so you can use ublock origin and enjoy ad free browsing again.
- This is the route I took, works very well

1Blocker

Brave browser does an okay job, but remember under the hood everything is just a re-skinned Safari browser. There are content blockers, but AdBlock sold out (allows ads) and uBlock Origin doesn't work on iOS due to limitations Apple has in place.