Firefox for iOS Gets Built-In Ad Blocker

[MacRumors]

Mozilla today said it is adding an ad blocker to Firefox for iOS, allowing users to block many third-party ads and ad-related trackers.

The ad blocker uses the EasyList filter list and Apple's WebKit Content Blocker technology, which is the same content-blocker API Safari ad blockers use. App Store ad blockers only work with Safari, so Mozilla built the feature directly into the app.

Firefox won't block ads served by the site you're visiting, and ads shown in search results will still appear. Sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content shown by Firefox when you open a new tab are separate from ads and won't be blocked.

Ad blocking is turned off by default, and it can be turned on in the Firefox app by going to Settings > Browsing > Ad Blocker.

Article Link: Firefox for iOS Gets Built-In Ad Blocker

 

[crococarbs]

Ah I was a big fan of FF for many years, but too late, already switched to Vivaldi in all platforms/devices. That said, I do like that firefox is not yet another Chromium-based browser, so might give it a try at some point

 

[dynamojoe]

I wonder if it’s any better than the excellent uBlock Origin.
Edit: that’s what I get for reading too fast. This is for iOS. now I’m really curious.

 

[Benjamin Nabulsi]

Great, we still need progressive web app option the soonest on Mac.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Why safari doesn't have one?

 

[Jakol]

Why safari doesn't have one?

Adguard block system wide.

 

[Astuces iOS]

Adguard block system wide.

Oh I know there is many on the App Store, but man just make a native one !

 

[turbineseaplane]

OUTSTANDING!!

As a Firefox (desktop & mobile) user, this is a huge day for me.

 

[TheDailyApple]

Oh I know there is many on the App Store, but man just make a native one !

If they do that Google and Meta will immediately sue them in the EU and the UK anti competitive.

 

[Hammerd]

Firefox won't block ads served by the site you're visiting, and ads shown in search results will still appear. Sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content shown by Firefox when you open a new tab are separate from ads and won't be blocked.

Does it end up blocking anything?

 

[EchoplexSE]

Firefox won't block ads served by the site you're visiting, and ads shown in search results will still appear. Sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content shown by Firefox when you open a new tab are separate from ads and won't be blocked.
Is it blocking anything in the end?

I think they mean to say that ads that are served by the website themselves won't be blocked, this is pretty typical of ad blockers. Ads served by third parties will be blocked

 

[erinsarah]

Firefox won't block ads served by the site you're visiting, and ads shown in search results will still appear. Sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content shown by Firefox when you open a new tab are separate from ads and won't be blocked.
Does it end up blocking anything?

Good to see I'm not the only one confuzzled by that.

 

[Hammerd]

I think they mean to say that ads that are served by the website themselves won't be blocked, this is pretty typical of ad blockers. Ads served by third parties will be blocked

Well, these ads can be filtered by subdomain if they happen do use a dedicated one, or at least be cosmetically filtered

 

[segfaultdotorg]

I wish Chrome had this (I have to use Chrome to get my bookmarks to sync across all devices).

 

[Astuces iOS]

If they do that Google and Meta will immediately sue them in the EU and the UK anti competitive.

Would be fun to see who wins

 

[Hammerd]

Oh I know there is many on the App Store, but man just make a native one !

Filtr (within Wipr app) is the only one to use iOS native URL filter technology.

There is also the possibility to use an ad-filtering custom DNS resolver natively with iOS

 

[Graphate]

OUTSTANDING!!

As a Firefox (desktop & mobile) user, this is a huge day for me.

Agreed, just for quality of life it’s great. I’m not excited about Firefox’s phoning home though, which is excessive.

It is a huge improvement for ads served by the host to not be blocked. I really don’t like ads, but I will tolerate them if they’re served by the website visited. Just not served by a third party network, that Nope Tracker (or Wipr/Filtr) was a huge eye opener. Might need to switch to FF if they stop phoning home.

 

[Jakol]

Oh I know there is many on the App Store, but man just make a native one !

I guess it is more than likely that they will never do that.

 

[Hammerd]

OUTSTANDING!!

As a Firefox (desktop & mobile) user, this is a huge day for me.

I get the point of using desktop Firefox but iOS Firefox is just wrapped WebKit

 

[turbineseaplane]

I wish Chrome had this (I have to use Chrome to get my bookmarks to sync across all devices).

Chrome feels like it's going in all the wrong directions to me, at least in light of the removal of Manifest V2 code which uBO needs.

With Google driving that bus, one wonders how long until ADs are "required" in Chrome someday. 😞

 

[turbineseaplane]

I get the point of desktop Firefox but iOS Firefox is just wrapped WebKit

Which is why them adding a built in AD blocker is nice!

I'd love to be running a full blown FF on mobile, but Apple won't allow it.

The reason to use it is it syncs up smoothly with my desktop and has niceties like "open a tab in FF on another device", etc. I do that one a lot actually. It's really nice when I see something on my phone I want to dive into on my Mac to just shoot it over to a new tab on my FF Mac install so I don't forget it.

I'd only recommend FF mobile usage if you also use FF on desktop as I do.

 

[Hammerd]

Which is why them adding a built in AD blocker is nice!

I'd love to be running a full blown FF on mobile, but Apple won't allow it.

The reason to use it is it syncs up smoothly with my desktop and has niceties like "open a tab in FF on another device", etc. I do that one a lot actually. It's really nice when I see something on my phone I want to dive into on my Mac to just shoot it over to a new tab on my FF Mac install so I don't forget it.

I'd only recommend FF mobile usage if you also use FF on desktop as I do.

Apple is forced to allow it in the EU. It is probably under development right now!

 

[Graphate]

Does it end up blocking anything?

I think they mean to say that ads that are served by the website themselves won't be blocked, this is pretty typical of ad blockers. Ads served by third parties will be blocked

Good to see I'm not the only one confuzzled by that.

There are tons of first party ads, sure, but third party is the problem. You agreed to visit [website].com, but not ads.doubleclick.com. Firefox isn’t perfect, and more trackers and pixels will slip through, but it’s easy for the general public and not as technical as some others.

Most of the top 10 websites serve their own ads, meta, google, AI, etc. But there are so many more you visit every day that use third party networks to track and serve you.

See third party ads below:



If Firefox snips those cluster branches it’s a win for a lot of people who aren’t technical enough or patient enough to endure toggles. Most people would never buy something like NT

 

[macdaddy43]

It is a welcome addition. I’d love to be able to use Firefox on iOS as my default browser but the fact that it does not work with 3rd party extensions (Apple limitation) is the deal breaker for me. If Firefox can block ads on YouTube in iOS id immediately move to it as my default browser. For now it is just either Brave for YouTube videos and Safari for everything else for me.

I’ll redownload today and see how it goes!

 

[xxFoxtail]

I actually just started testing Firefox on my iPhone and iPad over the weekend. I’m not sure if I’ll bother permanently switching over from Safari, but it's nice to see these other browsers getting regular updates.