WBlock: A New Ad-Blocker for Safari
github.com47 points by InfiniteVortex 3 hours ago
47 points by InfiniteVortex 3 hours ago
I've been using https://1blocker.com for many years now without issues. It isn't in their comparison list, but looks pretty similar design wise.
Same here, I have a lifetime license. And it works on both MacOS and iOS. It's a small indie app (1-2 devs I think).
isn't 1blocker a subscription service?
Yes, kind of. It has a subscription option, but you can also pay for a lifetime plan. They've done several major upgrades/redesigns and the lifetime plan is still honored.
Just installed it to see if it might be better than AdGuard on memory usage, and now I’m getting constant “Pssst! You forgot to apply some settings” notifications as soon as I leave the app. Clicking it takes me back to the app, where it does an update of everything, and… That’s it. Leave the app again, and the notification reappears. Quite annoying!
Edit: it appears it doesn’t remove ad content blocks like AdGuard, and doesn’t let me pick and choose elements to add. I might revisit in a few months, but for now I’m back to AdGuard.
>Just installed it to see if it might be better than AdGuard on memory usage
Why would it be? All adblockers are using the same content blocking API, so at best you'll be using less memory usage while it's updating, which happens so rarely that it's not worth worrying about.
The readme proudly proclaims: “ The end of Safari ad-blocking B.S.”
Except that it’s just another declarative blocker spread across 4+ extensions. This seems like the same old B.S to me. Better off sticking with Firefox.
> uBlock Origin Lite: Chromium-only Manifest V3 extension. Not available for Safari.
How did I install it as a safari extension on iOS from the App Store?
This is also outdated. Gorhill did release uBlock Origin Lite for iOS Safari.
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ublock-origin-lite/id674534269...
For those looking for the iOS / safari option for Ublock origin lite.
I'm interested in trying this, but not really interested in signing up for the whole Testflight rigamarole. I've had uBlock Origin Lite installed ever since it was released, but I prefer Safari's Content Blocker approach which uBlock doesn't use. (uBlock uses manifest v3, and it sometimes it leaves those small "empty image" boxes where an ad would be; I'm not sure if those two things are related.)
Why would you need testflight? This app is on the app store
Is there any reason to prefer uBoL over Pi-Hole/Adguard Home?
It works when you are outside your home network, without the additional rigamarole of setting up a VPN for all your devices to pass their internet through your home server.
Home Adguard Home works regardless of if I'm at home or not, without a VPN. I'm on Android though and I just set the Private DNS setting - I have a domain and point it at that. I dunno if you can do Private DNS on iOS though?
Pihole/adguard are great, and while their function overlaps with uBo, they are still different. You should use both.
UBo (and uBoL) have additional rules that can clean up pages. E.g. removing containers of ads.
It does much more too.
Absolutely. Pi hole does network blocking via DNS, uBoL does blocking via DOM queries.
Just downloaded this and it seems to be everything I've wanted on an ios safari adblocker. I was using ublock origin lite before. Its completely free like ublock but you can use your own filter lists. Thanks!
wBlock is a new ad-blocker for Safari. It supports (in general) everything Wipr, AdGuard for Safari/iOS, uBlock Origin Lite can do except for maybe multi-device sync
And what does it do differently?
Well, they have this list in their repo: https://github.com/0xCUB3/wBlock/blob/main/Adblock_Compariso...
Only one I can see is (slightly) less RAM use.
They do have a compare page here: https://github.com/0xCUB3/wBlock/blob/main/Adblock_Compariso...
I wonder why would they include GitHub stars as comparison point. Not only it is useless, it will mostly be wrong unless dynamically generated and updated.
It does indicate interest in the product from developers, which is helpful to know for smaller OSS projects because it means that people might be able to assist with development and it reduces the likelihood of the project being abandoned when the OG dev moves on.
Supports iOS 17.
Ad blocking on Safari is partially broken before iOS 18.6, hence the requirement of iOS version on uBlock Origin Lite.
It's just another declarative adblocker, as that is all Safari (and now Chrome) allows. There's vanishingly little room for differentiation in this space.