WBlock Is the Best Way to Block Ads in Safari.
Want to block ads on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad? wBlock is quickly becoming my favorite solution: it’s free, open-source, fast, and customizable.
Ad blocking is in a strange position. Google, the company that makes more money from advertising than any other company on Earth, is actively working to make Chrome’s ad blockers even worse, as well as making it harder to block ads on YouTube . Basically, now is the time to stop using Chrome.
It’s nice that Apple users have another option: Safari. And, as luck would have it, Safari has a very effective ad-blocking API built into it. The wBlock ad blocker uses it, blocking ads without slowing down the browser.
A few months ago, I wrote about uBlock Origin for Safari , which doesn’t use Apple’s built-in ad blocking feature. I liked its effectiveness at blocking ads, but over time, I noticed it was slightly slowing down my browser’s performance. After setting up wBlock, everything works smoothly.
You can install wBlock from the App Store on your Mac, iPhone, or iPad. Afterward, you can choose which filter lists to use. Several options are available, or you can use the default ones.
You’ll also be asked if you want to enable user scripts. The suggested scripts restore the old YouTube interface and bypass the paywall. You can also install user scripts if you prefer; you won’t need a separate app for this feature.
After this, you’ll need to open Safari, go to Settings, and enable all the wBlock entries you see on the Extensions page. Do this, and you’ll be able to browse the web without ads.
If you’re curious about how this extension works and how it differs from other Safari ad blockers, I recommend checking out the documentation on Github —it describes in detail how this tool works and how it differs from other apps. I also recommend considering the pros and cons of ad blocking in general.