There really are two different version of the internet, and which one you use depends on how how well your ad blockers are configured.
I was using my mom's laptop over the holidays, and it took me a minute to realize why every site I visited looked so _different_. What I quickly realised is almost every site I visited was wallpapered in ads: banners between every paragraph, sidebars full of ads, and background images selling things. A lot of sites were unrecognizable from what I was used to.
The ads covering the whole background of some websites websites are the most outrageous thing I had the pleasure to discover recently after so much time of ad blocking. They are absolutely aggressive to your very soul.
I've long planned a cyberpunk setting where you can sneak past low-level corporate guards by plastering your clothes in ads for competing companies, because their neural interfaces are configured to only let them see their employers adverts.
Every year that plan feels less and less like silly hyperbole.
I found the ads covering all of the foreground to be more annoying, where you even cannot close them, without opening the link. Pity on those who do not know what a adblocker is and have no one to tell them.
Yeah, browsing the web without uBlock Origin is an extremely shocking experience. I end up installing uBlock Origin in every single browser I come across.
The most aggravating for me is ads that follow me throughout the page as I scroll or show up out of nowhere while I'm reading rudely pushing the text away.
What are people using on their phones these days for ad blocking? (iphone specifically). I absolutely cannot stand any mobile website ever- it's insanity.
I’ve been really happy with NextDNS for blocking trackers and ads via DNS for my iPhone. You can create a provisioning profile for iOS and also have the ability to turn the blocking on and off on demand.a
Since iOS doesn’t make it easy to run a flush DNS command, I’ve discovered turning airplane mode on and off will clear your cache.
You can use a lot of the same blocklists you can use with uBlock.
I do see less ads in apps with NextDNS. However, I do run into scenarios where certain apps don’t work. For example I know if I want to use DoorDash or Facebook, I need to turn off blocking and flush my DNS cache to run those apps. I don’t see this being a viable option for a nontechnical user.
Here’s the list of the blockers I use in NextDNS:
- NextDNS Ads & Trackers Blocklist
- AdGuard DNS filter
- OISD
- AdGuard Mobile Ads filter
- EasyList
- Steven Black
- notracking
- AdGuard Tracking Protection filter
- Goodbye Ads
- EasyPrivacy
- NSABlocklist
- Disconnect
- Fanboy's Annoyance List
- Anudeep's Blacklist for ads and trackers
I recommend 1Blocker. One feature that is rarely mentioned is they can also block some ads in apps and not just Safari, by using a VPN profile which filters trackers locally.
I have 1 blocker premium, adgard, proton vpn blocklist, NextDNS. Out of all of them Brave is best and the only one that consistently blocks YouTube ads (and allowed for background playing).
I use Wipr, not so much to block ads but to reduce the chances page content will shift around while loading (to accommodate ad sizes that designers don't bother to plan for). It works pretty well, however it only affects Safari.
"Orion" is developed by the people at Kagi, free, and blocks a lot. As soon as I'm earning a salary again, I'll be supporting them financially; super valuable.
>What are people using on their phones these days for ad blocking?
uBlock Origin of course, what else? Running on Firefox (Nightly).
>(iphone specifically)
If you want an iPhone, you shouldn't complain about ads. If you want to block ads, get an Android. If Apple wanted you to block ads, they'd build a good ad-blocker into their phone. They don't, and they forcibly prevent you from using a different browser and ad-blocker, so obviously they want you to view ads.
I've been doing this on every fresh install of Chrome for years. Works wonders.