
Show HN: Magic Lasso, a high performance ad blocker for the iPhone, iPad and Mac - happybuy
https://www.magiclasso.co
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stephenr
So, as this apparently uses the native Safari content blocker mechanism, the
only ways it can compete with things like .e.g 1Blocker, is on ruleset, both
in terms of default rules, and how you can enable/disable/tweak/sync your
desired rule set.

I don't see anything that relates to those things. Is that not a feature, or
is there really no configuration available?

In the world of Safari ad blockers, claiming "faster than other blockers"
doesn't mean much, because the _good_ blockers are all using the content
blocker framework now, so the speed difference is negligible.

In case anyone wonders: I'm not affiliated with 1Blocker or it's developer. I
do use it, and I've paid for the IAP to unlock features. I've also written
'packages' of rules for it ([https://bitbucket.org/stephenreay/1blocker-
packages](https://bitbucket.org/stephenreay/1blocker-packages)).

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happybuy
We take a slightly different philosophy in that we don't think most users will
want to tweak different sets of rules etc. 1Blocker is a great product, but we
think most everyday users will not want to configure rulesets in most
circumstances.

Our goal is to produce the best default, current set of optimised rules which
blocks ads and user trackers without requiring individual user configuration.

Obviously power users will possibly want to do more elaborate configuration.
In future updates we are planning to enable more sophisticated whitelisting
but probably won't have the extensive lists of different rulesets that
1Blocker features.

Rulesets are just one of the parts of a great Adblocking product. We believe
we can also create a great product with our approach to rulesets and also
differentiate on other features.

~~~
stephenr
It's good to hear that you have reasoning behind your approach. Good luck!

~~~
happybuy
Thank you.

Your 1Blocker packages look very useful for users and I can see the merit in
being able to let users share and enable specific pre-packaged rules for
particular sites.

May be something for us to consider to support in future releases of Magic
Lasso (as long as we can make the process as streamlined and user friendly as
possible).

~~~
stephenr
One nice thing about 1Blocker 'packages' is that (from what I understand, I've
read some of the content blocker docs when the WebKit team announced it, but
not in-depth) they're essentially just using the native content blocker
format.

If you were to go down that route, it might be useful (for end users) if your
apps could read e.g 1blocker packages.

One thing thats still missing (AFAIK, happy to be shown otherwise) is a
website/app to facilitate finding community built 1blocker packages, and
adding them.

I guess if I get time one weekend I might build it...

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happybuy
> One thing thats still missing (AFAIK, happy to be shown otherwise) is a
> website/app to facilitate finding community built 1blocker packages, and
> adding them.

This should perhaps be built into the Adblocker extension and enable users to
see suitable packages in context when they are browsing compatible URLs ;)

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WhiteOwlLion
I bought AdBlock by Future Mind on iOS. I use it because prior to iOS 10, you
could load hosts (e.g. mvps) and block ads within apps, 3rd party browsers,
etc. I want to block ads from more than Safari and AdBlock is more complete.
On iOS 10 and above, I have to load MVPS hosts block lists manually but I can
still do it with some effort.

Performance is much faster and saves me data on 4G LTE when you block ads on
the DNS level.

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bradknowles
Sorry, there doesn't appear to be any actual content on this page.

If you want me to use your tool in a space I am already familiar with, you at
least need to show me how your tool is better than any of the competitors that
are already out there -- like uBlock Origin.

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happybuy
Point taken - thanks, makes sense. There is more info available on the App
Store page but you are correct that the website could be more informative.
We'll look to update in the future.

