Using an ad blocker is good for your security, privacy, and even the FBI recommends them to defend from online harms. But as much as ad blockers are great for cleaning up your browsing experience, these tools often do little to prevent the pervasive tracking from ads within apps.
Now, thanks to a new feature in iOS 26 and macOS 26, one developer has built the first device-level ad blocker that works across all of Apple’s main products — iPhones, iPads, and Macs — and isn’t just limited to the browser.
Filtr is a new tool created and maintained by Kaylee Serena Calderolla, the developer behind the popular Safari browser ad blocker Wipr. Wipr prevents ads from ever appearing in Safari, meaning that the ads won’t load, nor will their tracking code that advertisers use to follow you around the web and snoop on which websites you visit.
Filtr is an additional paid-for feature bundled into Wipr that goes one step further than ad-blocking in the browser by blocking ads in iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps. Filtr does this by using a new feature embedded in the latest Apple software called URL filters, which lets developers block access to certain websites or domains at the network level, rather than just in the browser.
The result is a cleaner browsing experience, free from advertisers watching over your online activity. For users like myself who rely on ad blockers across various devices, Filtr offers an additional layer of protection against ads and tracking within apps.
How Filtr Works
Filtr utilizes Apple’s URL filter feature to block access to certain websites or domains at the network level. This means that developers can block ads in iPhone, iPad, and Mac apps without having to modify their code. The URL filter feature relies on an advertising blocklist that Calderolla maintains.
Calderolla explained that Filtr consults a “pre-filter” blocklist that is stored on the user’s device and is kept constantly up-to-date via automatic updates in the Wipr app. The pre-filter list determines if a website is not on the block list and, most of the time, the website loads as normal.
But if the pre-filter list finds that a website might be on the block list, it will quickly confirm against the list on Calderolla’s servers. These requests are routed through Apple’s servers as a proxy so that app developers do not know who is querying their blocklists. This means that you can set up Filtr once and generally never have to think about it again.
Limitations of Filtr
While Filtr offers an impressive level of protection against ads and tracking within apps, there are some limitations to consider. No ad blocker is perfect, period, but minimizing exposure to the ad networks as much as possible is a major win for your privacy.
Filtr does not always block ads that are served directly from the websites you visit. That means you may still see ads in the Facebook, Google, and Reddit apps, as well as any other app that serves ads from its own domain, as blocking these could break the apps altogether.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Filtr is a game-changer for users who want to protect their privacy on Apple devices. With its ability to block ads in almost every iPhone and Mac app, Filtr offers an additional layer of protection against advertisers watching over your online activity.
While there are some limitations to consider, the benefits of using Filtr far outweigh the drawbacks. For $5 a year or $25 for a one-time lifetime payment, users can enjoy a cleaner browsing experience free from ads and tracking within apps.
Source: Original article