With the release of iOS 9, Apple implemented more browsing security features for users. You can, for instance, block cookies or stop websites from tracking you. One of the new features is content blocking, which basically offers the possibility to block advertisements within Safari. This is implemented within iOS and only works when using Safari. You also don’t need to jailbreak your iPhone or iPhone to block ads. Since the release, many Ad blockers popped up on the App Store. But which one is the best? And should you go with a paid or free ad blocker? All those questions will be answered in this article.
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Why should you use an Ad Blocker?
Well, that’s a good question. As a blogger who relies on Ad income myself, I often ask myself if I should block ads or not. For me the answer is: It depends. If I really like and enjoy the content, I’m happy to whitelist the page and allow ads on it. However, if I’m just randomly browsing I often rather prefer the benefits of ad blocking. They include
- Faster page loading
- Less mobile data usage
- Protection from malicious ads and content
Most ad blockers allow whitelisting URLs so I would highly recommend to whitelist pages that you really enjoy using.
How to activate Ad Blockers in iOS 9.0 and newer
Activating Ad Blockers (also called Content Blockers) in iOS 9.0 or newer is really easy. First, you need to download the ad blocker of your choice from the App Store. Afterwards, just follow these steps and you’re good to go:
- Go to the Settings and open Safari
- Look for the Content Blockers link in the General section
- Select the Ad Blocker of your choice. You can also select multiple ones, although this is not recommended
Next, just open the Ad Blocker and adjust the setting there. That’s it already. Pretty easy, eh?
1Blocker – Best Ad Blocker for iOS
While there are tons of Ad Blockers available for your iPhone or iPad, 1Blocker is hands-down the best one. Besides blocking Ads, it’s also able to block trackers, Social Media widgets, adult sites or even those annoying EU cookies notices, amongst others. Using 1Blocker speeds up Safari massively: Pages load up to 61.83% faster with 1Blocker active – in comparison to Safari without it. That’s massive. The only “downside” to it? If you want to block more than just one thing, you have to get the paid $2.99 pro version of the app. A fair price to pay for all the benefits the app has to offer.
Refine – Best Free Ad Blocker for iOS
If you don’t want to pay for 1Blocker and are not satisfied with the limited choices you have in the free version, I can highly recommend Refine as a free alternative. While the list of things to block is rather limited, the app offers everything the standard user needs such as ad blocking, popup removal or other privacy related settings.
What is your favourite ad blocker? Share them in the comments below.
I liked this app called AdBurn, it should be listed here, it doesnt have all the fancy features but does it job at blocking ads and loading pages quickly