What Are Safari Content Blockers and Should You Use Them
If you're using Safari on your iPhone, iPad or Mac, you can easily use a range of third-party content blockers to eliminate unwanted clutter related to loading in the browser.
But if content blockers are synonymous with ad blocking extensions, they work very differently and have certain advantages and disadvantages. Let us dig into them below.
How Safari Content Blockers Work
Content blockers are small applications that contain many rules, each with triggers and specific actions. These rules inform Safari of the exact forms of content to block. For example, a rule involving a certain type of ad would have a trigger that would help the browser to identify it, the result being to prevent the ad from loading.
While most content blockers are designed to block ads, web browsers, and third-party cookies, some block various elements of the site, such as social network plug-ins. The available features vary by content blockers. Some applications allow you to determine what you want to block, while others even allow you to create custom rules.
On the iPhone and iPad, Safari has begun to support content blockers from iOS 9 and is the only way to block ads on the browser. On the Mac, Safari versions 9, 10, 11, and 12 support extensions that block ads and content blockers. However, from Safari 13, the browser only supports content blockers.
Safari Content Blockers help load sites faster
Once you start using a content blocker, websites usually load faster in Safari because the browser does not have to load and render certain forms of content. Usually, sites with lots of ads, trackers, and heavy social network plug-ins will show remarkable performance improvements.
As for Safari on Mac, content blockers also allow websites to load even faster than ad-blocking extensions. This happens for two reasons. First, Safari compiles rules in content blockers so they can be easily read. Secondly, Safari acquires these rules in advance in order not to have to communicate with the content blocker in real time.
Safari content blockers improve privacy
Content blockers also play a role in preserving your privacy. For example, some sites and advertising networks use tracking and fingerprinting scripts to track and profile user activity – content blockers that specifically target tracking and advertising help stop it.
On Mac, opting for a content blocker rather than an ad blocking extension also brings privacy benefits. Unlike ad blockers, Safari does not have access to the rules of a real-time content blocker. This prevents content blockers from profiling users by activity.
Safari content blockers enhance 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, which prevents them from accessing sensitive information in any form whatsoever.
On macOS, content blockers 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 makes the most difficult part. Even if you are using a reputable advertising blocker for Safari, there is always a chance for an extension to be hacked. But with content blockers, this will not be a problem because they can not see your browsing activity in the first place.
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 makes the most difficult part.
In addition, the use of content blockers that target advertisements can also improve security. This is useful when there is malicious code in advertisements. There is less chance of getting infected in case of malvertising attack.
Limited functionality of Safari content blockers
If content blockers have disadvantages, it's because they're not as versatile as ad-blocking extensions. This is particularly evident on macOS, where the ability to list the site whitelist is only available in a limited form. You can only do this for entire domains, not for specific URLs. For example, this could be a problem if you want to support specific YouTube channels.
Some content blockers do not even have the means to create a whitelist. On iOS, however, you can override content blockers, and even whitelist sites through the Safari site customization menu.
Limits of enforceable rules
Another major disadvantage of using content blockers is the maximum number of rules it can apply, which is 50,000. Although this sounds like a lot, the filter lists used by some ad-blocking extensions far outweigh this. . As a result, you can see strange advertisements slip into the use of content blockers.
However, this limitation provides an advantage in terms of performance since developers often write rules more effectively to cover more ground. Some content blockers can also fix this by including multiple lists, although this may reduce performance benefits.
If you use content blockers?
Content blockers provide many benefits. You improve overall speed when loading sites in Safari, as well as privacy and security. Their use can really enhance your browsing experience and is absolutely essential on iPhone and iPad.
But on Mac, you may not want to give up your ad blocker because they do not limit rules and offer better whitelist features, even if content blockers offer better performance and greater privacy. In addition, content blockers are also rather annoying, because you have to open them separately outside Safari if you want to change the content settings.
If you are already using Safari 13 (or if you have upgraded to macOS Catalina), these are content blockers or no blocking. Some of the best content blockers are Ghostery Lite (macOS only), AdGuard and 1Blocker. However, you must try them to determine what is best for you.
Note: On iOS, Safari is not the only browser that can block ads. Here are five other browsers with their built-in content blockers.