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Best Mac Adblocker for PRIVACY and data protection? [MERGED]
- Thread starter Silly John Fatty
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You can still download the Network Utility on MacOS though. It is a part of the Apple Developer Tools, which can be installed on MacOS X and later operating systems. You can download the tools from the Apple Developer website if you have a registered Apple Developer account.
For Safari, Adguard is your best bet. It's generally the one that doesn't break sites and works the best (but it's heavier).
If the above still can't, your only solution is uBlock Origin on Chromium/Firefox based. Unfortunately there's no blocking for Safari that works as good as uBlock.
AdGuard (the paid desktop app) works the same, if not better, than uBlock Origin for Safari. You can also add all the same lists uBlock Origin has in the settings if that's what you want.
uBlock Origin for Safari doesn’t exist anymore since the switching of the extensions in the App Store and the introduction of the new APIs which are not “powerful” enough to let an adblocker work properly.
Adguard desktop is the price of this, a network wide program running in background that injects for you blocking filters in the browser, additionally working as a firewall and DNS resolver if you want to. But that’s a totally different story compared to an open source browser extension like uBlock Origin of a 30MB footprint.
I don’t have experience with Adguard, but considering how invasive it is on the system, I hope it works great, especially if they can match the uBlock filters (the large community who corrects the issues with blocking).
I’m curious to understand how much battery Adguard consumes system wide, and if it has any impact on the cpu usage of Safari.
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It has zero impact on Safari's performance or battery usage. Even though it blocks ads OS-wide, it uses very little resources (low RAM and low CPU usage). I've been using it for years, but it's become even more efficient since they made it work natively with Apple Silicon. They do match uBlock's filter list and allow you to add whatever custom lists you want as well. And like uBlock Origin, it also lets you block specific parts of websites if you want. AdGuard for iOS also lets you block specific parts of apps in Safari. It's just a great app.
Some info from 1Blocker extensions inside Safari settings if it interests you:
Talk about timing. I have just migrated from a 2012 Mini to an M2 Air and started checking out the adblock situation for Safari. (I have uBlock Origin for Firefox, which works great.)
So thanks, folks.
NextDNS sounds good. That plus either Wipr or AdGuard, and the VPN I already have, should cover it for me. Just want to avoid being tracked by commercial interests.
So thanks, folks.
NextDNS sounds good. That plus either Wipr or AdGuard, and the VPN I already have, should cover it for me. Just want to avoid being tracked by commercial interests.
I bought it when it was 1Blocker X for $5-10, and when he switched to subscription, people like me were grandfathered in with a free lifetime subscription.
Or not.
Still checking it out but apparently NextDNS and AdGuard don't play with VPNs. Or at least with my VPN.
Is a VPN plus Wipr roughly equivalent to NextDNS & Wipr?
AdGuard works fine with NordVPN. If it isn't working, then you need to go to the AdGuard help forums or contact customer support to address the issue. Wipr blocks most relevant things though, so you can't go wrong with it.
Consider buying a Rasberrypie-based router that blocks ads at the router/modem level so all devices will be stripped of ads.
Even your smart TV's YouTube app
Even your smart TV's YouTube app
The install instructions of my VPN software (Mullvad) explicitly state that you cannot also have NextDNS or AdGuard installed. Causes DNS conflicts or something.
Or use a ‘retired’ MacMini as a local DNS server (combined with local file service), with AdGuard Home installed.
Similar with me, but I use wipr extra allowed for YouTube only.
I use Lockdown. It does a great job of lowering the amount of ads even on ad heavy sites like CBSSports.com. Still nothing beats turning off JavaScript. That gets rid of all ads 100%. 🤓
Not could but can access that information! But I see your point of course. Still, it is good that Safari warns us about this. It's not something that usual to have a small app by a perhaps instable company be able to collect your passwords and credit card details.
As for the VPNs: To be honest, that is the reason I haven't gotten into them yet and why, until now, I could never befriend myself with them … that's what I had read about them and why I didn't get deeper into them.
What are the benefits of using a VPN? And most importantly … what are the downsides?
I appreciate it.
From what I've seen, Adblock Pro is open source, while the question wether AdGuard is open source or not is kind of unclear. Apparently parts of it are open source, but that side looks like marketing to me. I think nobody knows what the code in the background does for sure. Maybe it's Spyware, who knows.
That's probably the safest thing, much better than installing some windy extensions and I don't know what. Blocking cookies and JavaScript as well as using private windows, but you can't login anywhere, etc. It's complicated.
Appreciated! However, your first steps sound like you use AdGuard to see your traffic usage. I would rely on another app for that, for example Little Snitch. Just for the sake of objectivity. Not saying that AdGuard manipulates your traffic usage. But what do I know, theoretically it could use some traffic and substract it from what it tells you. I don't believe it goes that far. I will re-install Little Snitch soon, and check out what AdGuard does precisely. Also we can never exclude that it doesn't transfer data is micropackages, or once a month, or who knows when and how … We would have to observe it all the time. That's unrealistic.
Thanks, that is much less than AdGuard does. No mention of access to passwords, phone numbers or credit card details. But perhaps it says something alone those lines in one of those other tabs. I want to download 1Blocker and check it out. The privacy policy looked good.
After everything that's been said here, this sounded like the cleanest solution.
Can you do something like this directly on your router maybe?
The annoyance is that a lot of sites use JavaScript for things you need. Some sites have modules that may be important to you that you won't even notice will be missing. Forms, or different fields with access to downloads, etc. And you'll leave the site again, call phone support, etc. etc., not having realised everything was on that site, but you have JavaScript turned off. Just had a similar situation with a Health Care site. Didn't realize I had JS turned off. Lost 30 minutes for nothing.
And by the time such sites stop using JS, all Ads services and commercial players will have stopped as well.
Sounds like a Mullvad issue. They really need to find a workaround.
Perfectly possible to use NextDNS with a VPN like Mullvad. What maybe isn't easily possible is using their software on the same machine, but if you think that you really need a VPN for privacy (I would disagree here in most cases, but that's another whole discussion), then logically you should run it on the router anyway. Because with local software, some packets will always somehow find their way out. I would also run NextDNS on your router or a dedicated server in your LAN, makes your whole setup a lot more robust.
Also, don't (only) use the CPE from your ISP, get some real hardware that you can fully control. Learn about how computer networks work exactly, the different network services in details like DNS, DHCP, how packet routing works etc. only then you can be quite sure where all of your traffic actually ends up. As I mentioned earlier, an ad blocker is only a small part of gaining control over your digital footprint. It's a tool that can certainly be quite useful, but no matter how powerful your tools are, the result is also dependent on the knowledge and skill that you bring to the table.
IMHO it's fine to use "privacy" VPNs like Mullvad if you fully know what you're doing and aware of the potential up/downsides. But if you're not completely sure and it's just for "feel good" purposes, maybe revisit that decision and bring the focus on other parts of your infrastructure or usage of network services. Sometimes it's better to keep things a bit simpler if that means you have a better grasp on them.
Also, don't (only) use the CPE from your ISP, get some real hardware that you can fully control. Learn about how computer networks work exactly, the different network services in details like DNS, DHCP, how packet routing works etc. only then you can be quite sure where all of your traffic actually ends up. As I mentioned earlier, an ad blocker is only a small part of gaining control over your digital footprint. It's a tool that can certainly be quite useful, but no matter how powerful your tools are, the result is also dependent on the knowledge and skill that you bring to the table.
IMHO it's fine to use "privacy" VPNs like Mullvad if you fully know what you're doing and aware of the potential up/downsides. But if you're not completely sure and it's just for "feel good" purposes, maybe revisit that decision and bring the focus on other parts of your infrastructure or usage of network services. Sometimes it's better to keep things a bit simpler if that means you have a better grasp on them.
I use NextDNS on my router and AdGuard on my devices.
Seems like I am not alone.
I have no problem using VPNs either.
Regarding performance, NextDNS is an overall performance improvement whilst AdGuard on Safari has a small performance hit when benchmarked on Speedometer 2.0 (compared to having the extension disabled). Nothing significant though but if you are using a number of extensions (StopTheMadness, Dark Reader, languages et al) they can all add up to the point where you can just notice the page rendering speed difference by eye, rather than by benchmarking for something vanishingly small.
AdGuard Enabled:
AdGuard Disabled:
AdGuard plus 2 other extensions enabled:
NextDNS (running on my EdgeRouter 4):
☕️
Seems like I am not alone.
I have no problem using VPNs either.
Regarding performance, NextDNS is an overall performance improvement whilst AdGuard on Safari has a small performance hit when benchmarked on Speedometer 2.0 (compared to having the extension disabled). Nothing significant though but if you are using a number of extensions (StopTheMadness, Dark Reader, languages et al) they can all add up to the point where you can just notice the page rendering speed difference by eye, rather than by benchmarking for something vanishingly small.
AdGuard Enabled:
AdGuard Disabled:
AdGuard plus 2 other extensions enabled:
NextDNS (running on my EdgeRouter 4):
☕️
Honestly, if you want a solution to block all ads, without using any programs, I'd use a host file replacement and change your host file directly with MacOS. There's a couple of good Host file replacements on the web to block ads. If you need more information, feel free to respond.
Remember though, with modifying a host file, there is no "switch" to turn off the ad block though.
Just an option.
Remember though, with modifying a host file, there is no "switch" to turn off the ad block though.
Just an option.
I just want to point out being fastidious on an AdBlockers privacy while using, plus being part of, instagram (facespace, gloogle, and the others) is kind of like complaining that about the fireman’s hose you want to use to put out your campfire while if you turn around you would see your whole house has already burnt to the ground.
It’s great privacy and tracking are getting out there and we as consumers need to put these companies and law makers under a microscope. But honestly we give away freely more important information than our computers/phones track.
Block all the Ads you want with whatever open source code makes you feel warm and fuzzy, yet still clicking “like” on whatever platform you use defeats the purpose you are trying to achieve.
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