- Content Blockers are essentially tiny apps that run inside your web browser, and are designed to block ads, web trackers, and third-party cookies.
- Compared to Ad-Blockers, Safari Content Blockers come with added benefits that improve performance, privacy, and security.
- However, Content Blockers do not come with the option to Whitelist websites, which can be an issue for some users.
How Do Safari Content Blockers Work
Ka-Block! – A simple content blocker for Safari on macOS.
While most content blockers are designed to block ads, web trackers, and third-party cookies, some block various site elements such as social media plugins. Available features vary between content blockers. Some apps let you determine what you want to block, while some even let you create custom rules.
Benefits of Safari Content Blockers
Helps to Load Sites Faster
Expect faster page load times with content blockers.
When it comes to Safari on the Mac, content blockers also allow websites to load even faster compared to ad-blocking extensions. That happens due to two reasons. Firstly, Safari compiles the rules within content blockers so that it can read them easily. Secondly, Safari acquires these rules in advance so that it doesn’t have to communicate with the content blocker in real-time.
Improves Privacy
Certain content blockers let you block ads, trackers, and more.
On Macs, opting for a content blocker over an ad-blocking extension also brings privacy-related benefits on its own. Unlike ad blockers, Safari doesn’t access the rules within a content blocker in real-time. That prevents content blockers from profiling users by activity.
Increases Security
In addition to improving your privacy, content blockers are very safe to use. They do not have access to your browsing activity since Safari loads all the rules in advance, hence preventing them from gaining access to sensitive information in any shape or form.
On macOS, content blockers once again take precedence over ad blockers in terms of security. With ad blockers, it’s the extension and not the browser that blocks the content. But when you use a content blocker, it’s the browser that does the hard part. Even if you use a reputed ad blocker for Safari, there’s always the chance for an extension to be hijacked. But with content blockers, that won’t cause an issue since they can’t see your browsing activity in the first place.
Additionally, using content blockers that target advertisements can enhance security. That is helpful when malicious code is contained within advertisements. There is less chance of being infected in the event of a malvertising attack .
Downsides of Safari Content Blockers
No Whitelisting
One of the biggest downsides to using content blockers is that they aren’t as versatile as ad-blocking extensions. That is especially apparent on macOS, where the ability to whitelist sites is only available in a limited form. You can only do that for entire domains and not specific URLs. For example, this could be problematic if you want to support specific YouTube channels.
Whitelisting a site with Ghostery Lite.
Some content blockers don’t even have the means to whitelist in the first place. On iOS, however, you can override content blockers and even whitelist sites via Safari’s site customization menu.
Limits Enforceable Rules
1Blocker uses multiple lists to circumvent the limitation on content rules.
However, this limitation offers an advantage in terms of performance since developers often write rules in more effective ways to cover more ground. Certain content blockers may also counteract this by including multiple lists, though this could degrade any performance benefits.
Should You Use Content Blockers?
Content blockers offer a range of advantages. They improve the overall speed of site loading in Safari and enhance privacy and security. Using them can help improve your browsing experience, and are quite indispensable on the iPhone and iPad.
But on the Mac, you may not want to ditch your ad blocker just yet since they have no limits on rules and offer better whitelisting capabilities, even though content blockers are superior in terms of performance and privacy. Furthermore, content blockers are also rather annoying since you need to open them separately outside Safari if you want to modify the content settings.
Some of the better content blockers out there include Ghostery Lite (macOS only), AdGuard , and 1Blocker . However, make sure to try them out to find what suits you best.
