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iOS 9 Content Blockers Mini-Reviews

netnothing

netnothing

macrumors 68040
Mar 13, 2007
3,806
416
NH
Trying Adguard now. So far on my phone it's working well.

Hoping maybe the dev @avatar-adg will be able to respond.....confused on the paid options on the site and why the iOS version is free? I like to pay to support devs so they keep developing.

-Kevin
 
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deep1

macrumors 6502
Mar 29, 2011
379
270
I would love to get some recommendation too, used to use adguard but it cut my battery in half, back to 1blocker and battery is back to normal.

How are you finding battery with adguard and if some one would please share the filter they use if safari is not draining battery since using Adguard!
 
A

ardchoille50

macrumors 68020
Feb 6, 2014
2,142
1,230
@avatar-adg Why does the List FR filter keep getting auto-activated on Safari running on macOS Sierra? I keep turning it off, I'm not in France, but it gets turned back on. What exactly is this filter and why does it get turned back on automatically? I remember there were problems with this filter and it disappeared for a bit, but it's back in the Adgiard Ad Blocking settings (see screenshot below).

Screen Shot 2016-09-20 at 10.09.59 PM.png
 
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alt0

macrumors newbie
Mar 22, 2015
10
0
I deleted adguard and my iPhone fly again, i couldn't see how match heavy it is, now i use weblock and the speed is amazing
 
avatar-adg

avatar-adg

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2015
282
241
Moscow
Hi all, sorry for the late reply, I was a bit busy lately.

ardchoille50 said:
@avatar-adg Why does the List FR filter keep getting auto-activated on Safari running on macOS Sierra? I keep turning it off, I'm not in France, but it gets turned back on.
Click to expand...

For some reason Adguard considers that you visit french websites and automatically activates french filter. You can simply turn off the "Activate the most appropriate filters automatically" option in AG settings. Language-specific filters detection algorithm is very straightforward, it'll activate that filter if you visit any ".fr" website.

Gonky said:
@avatar-adg The anti Adblock sign is back again after a few months, sneaky bastards! Please can you block it? ❤️ http://m.bournemouthecho.co.uk/
Click to expand...

Done:
https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdguardFilters/commit/00f1e1d4fe7089758ac1b1f908b85bb04ff90671
 
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G

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,433
244
Adguard Pro is released ... just tested it - it blocks in-app ads but only when connected to the internet through VPN profile, but when the network is off, ads show-up again. I guess that's expected, would have be nice if there is way to block ads even when not connected to the internet.

So far Adguard has been the best and particularly their support for updating the filters.
 
avatar-adg

avatar-adg

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2015
282
241
Moscow
So, let me introduce the Adguard Pro version. Yay, we have finally released it! :)
https://blog.adguard.com/en/adguard-pro-release/

Basically, Adguard Pro is the Free version (e.g. Safari content blocker) plus an option to block ad servers system wide.

How exactly ads are blocked system wide?

Adguard Pro sets up a fake VPN which only purpose is to change system DNS to Adguard DNS.
Adguard DNS, in turn, blocks access to ad and tracking servers system wide.

And that's not all. Besides blocking ads Adguard DNS provides "Family protection" mode.

Here is what's good in it:
+ Blocks access to adult websites
+ Enforces safe search in Google, Bing and Yandex search engines. Unfortunately, Yahoo does not allow to do it on the DNS level.

Why can't I just set up my device to use Adguard DNS?

In fact you can do it for a particular Wi-Fi network. The problem is that you cannot do it for "mobile data". Also you'll have to do it manually for each Wi-Fi network manually.

With Adguard Pro it's enough to simply turn it ON once. Unlike some other ad blocking solutions, Adguard Pro does not require installing a mobile profile.

Why do I still need a Safari content blocker?

DNS level ad blocking cannot fully replace a content blocker. It can block ad servers indeed, but that's not enough to block all the ads. For instance, it cannot apply cosmetic filters which are necessary, for instance, to block google ads.

Should I use the free Adguard if I have Pro?

No, Adguard Pro includes all features of the free version. So you can safely remove it and switch to Adguard Pro.

How much does it cost?

To mark our first official release we have temporarily reduced the price: $0.99.

Important: mobile or premium Adguard licenses are not valid for iOS Pro, this app can be purchased and activated only in the App Store.

What's next?

A lot:) But first of all, we'd like to cover the DNS field completely.

1. DNSCrypt. In the same way the SSL turns HTTP web traffic into HTTPS encrypted Web traffic, DNSCrypt turns regular DNS traffic into encrypted DNS traffic that is secure from eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. Currently there is no way you can use it without jailbreak and we want to change it.

2. DNS filtering. Basically, it will allow block ads without changing your system DNS. Sure, Adguard DNS provides no-logging policy, but you might still want to use your own DNS.
 
Last edited:
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A

ardchoille50

macrumors 68020
Feb 6, 2014
2,142
1,230
avatar-adg said:
Hi all, sorry for the late reply, I was a bit busy lately.



For some reason Adguard considers that you visit french websites and automatically activates french filter. You can simply turn off the "Activate the most appropriate filters automatically" option in AG settings. Language-specific filters detection algorithm is very straightforward, it'll activate that filter if you visit any ".fr" website.
Click to expand...
Thank you very much for explaining that! I do visit some .fr sites and your advice makes perfect sense.
 
avatar-adg

avatar-adg

macrumors 6502
May 15, 2015
282
241
Moscow
DanEp said:
So avatar-avg, can you please tell us about any serious issues with the pro version? also what are the privacy implications of sending all traffic through your DNS server? Thank you.
Click to expand...

Hm, the only serious issue is that you can't use other apps using the same VPN API as we. For instance, Speedify.

However, it appears, that you can still use classic VPN apps based on installing a mobile profile. At least it works ok along with F-Secure Freedome app, which was unexpected even for me.

What for the privacy, Adguard DNS provides no-logging privacy policy, which is rather rare among DNS services. Even though we do it, in future I'd like to see DNS filtering feature implemented. It will allow us block the ads and let you use any DNS you want.
 
H

Hippocrates

macrumors member
Jun 12, 2012
95
33
Hi avatar-adg, congrats to your team and thanks for the wonderful Adguard Pro. For the first time ever, my Flipboard is also free from ad!

I'm just wondering if enabling the VPN will impact battery life?

Btw, it would also be nice to move or duplicate this thread to iOS 10 to get more visibility. Somehow I have not been receiving alerts on this watch thread, perhaps due to its low activity.
 
G

gaanee

macrumors 65816
Dec 8, 2011
1,433
244
@avatar-adg where is the option to turn-off "Activate the most appropriate filters automatically"? Under Advanced settings there are only options for: "Auto Update over wifi only" and "Use simplified filter "

Edit: Ok..I see, it's on Mac OS not iOS.


avatar-adg said:
For some reason Adguard considers that you visit french websites and automatically activates french filter. You can simply turn off the "Activate the most appropriate filters automatically" option in AG settings. Language-specific filters detection algorithm is very straightforward, it'll activate that filter if you visit any ".fr" website.



Done:
https://github.com/AdguardTeam/AdguardFilters/commit/00f1e1d4fe7089758ac1b1f908b85bb04ff90671
Click to expand...
 
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A

aced411

macrumors 6502
Jun 2, 2007
380
92
deep1 said:
I would love to get some recommendation too, used to use adguard but it cut my battery in half, back to 1blocker and battery is back to normal.

How are you finding battery with adguard and if some one would please share the filter they use if safari is not draining battery since using Adguard!
Click to expand...
I've been using Symantec for months. It's completely free, is lightweight, has very little impact on battery and yields great results.
 
schmegs

schmegs

macrumors member
Nov 9, 2007
48
18
Burbank, CA
So, I bought Adguard Pro. I have a decent-sized whitelist already in the free version. Is there any way to transfer that list to the Pro version, other than manually entering every site?
 
J

JackieInCo

Suspended
Jul 18, 2013
5,178
1,601
Colorado
Wow, just heard about Adguard for iOS. I've been using it happily on my Android devices for a year now and installed the Pro version on my 6S+.

Only think I do not like is the VPN icon in the status bar but I'm sure that is unavoidable just as it is on Android with the notification.

I was using Adblock but it still allowed an annoying ad to get through in one of my most used apps, Adguard has gotten rid of that.
 
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