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Best Mac Adblocker for PRIVACY and data protection? [MERGED]
- Thread starter Silly John Fatty
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It is definitely the best choice for Safari! I switched to it about a year or so ago and have never regretted my decision.
AdGuard is not an open-source program, it is a proprietary software. However, they do provide some open-source components and code snippets on their GitHub page.
I use adguard mainly, but I’ve had a good experience with 1Blocker. You’ll like it’s privacy policy.
1blocker.com
Privacy Policy
Adguard if Safari, but if privacy mattered to you in the first place you wouldn't use Safari (or Mac) in the first place.
Ublock origin and the Firefox browser configured with Arkenfox are all you need (and want, considering fingerprinting) for a moderate level of privacy.
Ublock origin and the Firefox browser configured with Arkenfox are all you need (and want, considering fingerprinting) for a moderate level of privacy.
The original developers were (and probably still are) based in Moscow. Cyprus in in the EU. So registering the company in Cyprus was to get it under EU rules (privacy, disclosure, etc.). Developers are now in many countries and much of the support is from Ukraine. You can probably find more on the web.
No, it is not inherent. Ad blockers work by downloading rules to your computer and, on your computer, applying these rules to every URL There is no re-routing traffic or reporting back to the provider.
When you use the term ad-blocker, you expect ads to be blocked. But, equally important is to choose an ad-blocker which has strong anti-tracking and malware blocking as core functionality.
There is second way of ad blocking and that is to send DNS requests (that convert network names to IP address) to an ad-aware DNS servers which will send blank addresses back to your computer. The ad-aware DNS server may be somewhere on the Internet (there are a number of these, including those run my AdGuard) or on your LAN at home (most often Pi-hole) or even on your computer. The DNS server applies rules.
As with all things on the Internet, you need to have a level of trust. My preference is for software which has paid versions (so providing an acceptable financial model for the provider).
Disclosure: I use AdGuard for Mac (paid), AdGuard for Safari on iPhone (using free functionality but I do have a paid licence), and AdGuard Home (free DNS server, akin to Pi-hole).
AdGuard is reasonably ok.
About the only thing that works properly though is Firefox+uBlock Origin.
About the only thing that works properly though is Firefox+uBlock Origin.
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Really? "Everyone" can check it? I doubt whether many people at all have the inclination or the programming ability to verify that there is nothing bad in the source code of any program you wish to use. I'm a programmer by profession, and I don't do that. I just want to use the thing.
There seems a lot of guesswork and supposition in your post, with no supporting evidence whatsoever. Just use the best tool for the job, irrespective of whether it's open or closed source. Using closed source isn't going to make your hair fall out, your partner leave you and your house burn down.
Yep.
Most of the closed source stuff is written by the lowest bidder, usually from some dubious country with risky political ties. The open source stuff is written by some incel in an RV park on crystal meth. And the mid ground I.e. commercial open source is written by people who don’t give a crap about what they’re doing because they are being laid off next week.
There is no panacea. Judge on merit only.
It's not reasonably okay. It's the best. You need to use the actual desktop app, not the garbage extension from the Mac App Store. https://adguard.com/en/welcome.html
It costs money though, but they always have huge sales.
That may depend on which AdGuard product we're talking about. I used to use the freebie AdGuard for Safari extension, but it was horribly buggy starting with... I guess Catalina maybe? I've long since switched to AdGuard for Mac, which isn't free but is a heckuva lot better than the extension ever was. Of course, the standalone extension may well be more reliable today for all I know. Their extension for Firefox has never given me a fit.
LOL! You are definitely living up to your avatar. That wouldn't have been composed better if Rick Sanchez had written it himself.
Adblock Plus for Safari (ABP)
The easy way to block ads on your iPhone and iPad. Annoying ads like pop-ups, video ads, banners and ads disguised as content are things of the past thanks to Adblock Plus (ABP)! Safari users enjoy a peaceful and delightful web experience when using Adblock Plus, the world’s number 1 ad...
apps.apple.com
I’ve used this for years and it works pretty well. My only complaint is that many sites know you’re using it and won’t load until it’s disabled.
1Blocker on macOS and iOS + NextDNS on all devices. But that's just a start, next step is just outright not using privacy-invasive services. And when you absolutely must, use alternative frontends without ads, less javascript etc. remove all your cookies and website data regularly.
I have all Google, Meta and Microsoft services/domains fully blocked on my devices. Of course, I still interact with their data centers, for example when using iCloud, or when visiting a website hosted on Azure or Google cloud etc., but they have less opportunity to create profiles on me.
Generally I never see any ads but in case anything slips through the cracks it's always completely unrelated to what I'm actually using / interested in.
I have all Google, Meta and Microsoft services/domains fully blocked on my devices. Of course, I still interact with their data centers, for example when using iCloud, or when visiting a website hosted on Azure or Google cloud etc., but they have less opportunity to create profiles on me.
Generally I never see any ads but in case anything slips through the cracks it's always completely unrelated to what I'm actually using / interested in.
I'm referring to the desktop application, not the Safari extension. The good thing about the desktop application is it will block ads in Chrome, Edge, etc. when they implement that garbage Manifest V3.
It's not hidden, these companies have your identity. AdGuards states in their privacy policy:
And let me guess, using the software is probably "giving your consent". It's all about the law guys! Everything else doesn't matter. Everything else is just marketing. Legislation and jurisdiction is everything.
And most likely NordVPN also has some statements like that in their policies. By accepting their terms and confirming you've read their privacy policy, you enter a contract with them, and what I quoted above is part of the contract.
I think it's not the exact same software. When you look at their website, they have plenty of different apps (even for Mac). They have a Safari extension, but they also have a Mac app, etc. And then other additional stuff too.
I downloaded the Mac app because their site says it's better. It automatically also added a Safari extension in my case, which states the exact opposite of what yours says:
Good to know from a service that states it sells your data if you give your consent 😂
Weirdly enough, I've received one spam mail today, even though I NEVER get ANY spam mail. At all. Not even in my Spam folder. That's because I barely release my email adress anywhere.
And sometimes I do, and then I get spam. Meanwhile I know exactly from who I get spam when I get it, just because it's so rare and just too big of a coincidence. My email which AdGuard used is now probably in a DB to which plenty of other services have access, maybe it's even being sold or something, I think I consented after all.
Too complicated for me at the moment, but one day maybe … Having an additional computer just for adblocking is kind of hardcore, though. There could also just be some open source application that has the wellbeing of its users in its focus. But apparently 8 billion inhabitants is not enough people to bring fourth a single person that's going to do this. We're doomed.
We're lucky we still know how to breathe.Definitely sounds fun and I keep hearing from scientific communities using these Raspberries for all kinds of biochemical or astrophysical projects. I'm not tech-savvy enough yet, but the fact nothing is done at the computer level makes it sound more easy, especially if there's good documentation. Could you potentially use it simultaneously for other stuff than for Adblocking too?
I use adguard mainly, but I’ve had a good experience with 1Blocker. You’ll like it’s privacy policy.
Privacy Policy
Thanks, I'll read it!
Why did they even remove uBlock Origin for Safari?
Moscow … hallelujah
There's good people in Russia too of course. But I'm always a little bit sceptical, it's a deeply corrupt, violent and criminal society.Companies registered in Cyprus on the other hand are usually registered there for tax reasons. But it's often the shady companies from my experience.
Thanks for your elaborations. As for AdGuard, I have enabled HTTPS filtering. Does that still not re-route or send the traffic to AdGuard? Because honestly, I think at that point it might just better be not having any AdBlock at all (and use Little Snitch instead), because it's unlikely to get malware by normal browsing. But here, we're giving an app direct access to our data etc. …
I was exaggerating, you're right, but you get my point. The possibility for someone to check the code is there, that's why I prefer open source.
Lol, thanks for this perspective.
Other than that I'd just like to say that I've used AdGuard on my devices since yesterday, and it doesn't even filter all ads. Some stuff also doesn't work anymore, such as Instagram stories. Not that I was on Instagram a lot, but I noticed it today. So I expect more broken stuff along the way.
Enabling https filtering allows AdGuard for Mac (running on your Mac) to inspect the content of https traffic and apply the filtering rules. There is no need to send anything to AdGuard.
You give all sorts of apps direct access to your data. Little Snitch (for example) is just like AdGuard in the sense that it inspects network data. Your word processor (Pages, Word, etc.) has access to your data as files on your disk. All your apps have access to something - some of which may be very personal data.
At some point to have to trust and accept the risks. Just as you do when you drive your car, buy food at supermarket, or see your doctor.
But you can take mitigation measures. One of those mitigation measures is to use AdGuard which I believe is very good at blocking tracking and sources of malware.
No need to accept blindly, you should make some assessment of all software you use. Red flags for me are companies that provide something for free without having any obvious income stream. For example, I would never use a free VPN product. And I would be nervous of a free ad-blocker that didn't have a paid version to provide an income stream.
Coming back to AdGuard, its Russian connection needs to be part of your assessment. The move (a few years go) to a company and governance structure based on EU rules was a positive step for me. And that its developers and support teams straddle both East and West provides some positive vibes regarding the abilities of powerful governments to lean on them.
In that case the Safari extension is an "assistant" which allows you to control AdGuard for Mac (e.g. turn off some site blocks) directly from Safari. It is an ease of use thing.
So I've read the privacy policy of 1Blocker and it looks very good. I also vibe with the other infos they have on their site. But I don't think it's open source, so of course it's a matter of trust again. If we're speaking only legally right now, I have more reasons to trust them than AdGuard, who openly states they may sell your data with your consent, and who also admit to collect your passwords, phone numbers, credit card data, etc.
1Blocker explicitly say that they do not collect such information. So from a purely legal perspective, 1Blocker wins this comparison. Of course that's just the privacy aspect, I don't know how it performs. I will try it out and see. AdGuard has been "okay" so far, there's quite some ads getting through. Some sites are laggy (I think I mentioned it again, Instagram stories don't work for example) or broken (ugly design due to ads being removed). But it says it has blocked over 200 ads and over 1000 trackers in one day on my Mac alone. I guess that's good, because I didn't even surf that much.
What I also noticed is that Adblock and Adblock Plus are open source. I had these before and thought they were shady, not sure why. Probably the corporate design didn't hit me. But rationally speaking (at least from a privacy perspective), they're better, since they're open source. I think they performed "okay" though, I'll have to try them again.
I think I'd rather have an app only filter 60% of trackers and ads and not sell my data, than filtering 95% of them and eventually selling my passwords and credit card data.
1Blocker explicitly say that they do not collect such information. So from a purely legal perspective, 1Blocker wins this comparison. Of course that's just the privacy aspect, I don't know how it performs. I will try it out and see. AdGuard has been "okay" so far, there's quite some ads getting through. Some sites are laggy (I think I mentioned it again, Instagram stories don't work for example) or broken (ugly design due to ads being removed). But it says it has blocked over 200 ads and over 1000 trackers in one day on my Mac alone. I guess that's good, because I didn't even surf that much.
What I also noticed is that Adblock and Adblock Plus are open source. I had these before and thought they were shady, not sure why. Probably the corporate design didn't hit me. But rationally speaking (at least from a privacy perspective), they're better, since they're open source. I think they performed "okay" though, I'll have to try them again.
I think I'd rather have an app only filter 60% of trackers and ads and not sell my data, than filtering 95% of them and eventually selling my passwords and credit card data.