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Comment by sergiosgc | Hacker News Reader

Or Firefox Focus. It quickly became my default browser on Android, with the regular Firefox left for sites where I maintain a session.

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Focus is probably the best option on iOS but I don't trust Mozilla to block tracking the way I want it done, I'm far more comfortable with uBlock Origin handling it. If I want the extra protection of deleting my cookies and history on exit I'd rather just start a private tab. Most of the time, I want to stay logged in on sites.

Why do you distrust Mozilla in this case?

For me it's not a matter of trust, it's just that there's no customizability to the ad-blocking on Focus, even at the level of choosing blocklists to subscribe to, or adding particular elements to be blocked.

I don't want a company that releases a "privacy focused browser" with telemetry enabled by default deciding which tracking is "ok" and which isn't. I love Firefox compared to other browsers but there's definitely some user-hostile choices being made at Mozilla and I'd rather they just not get involved in ad blocking (other than ensuring the add-on architecture allows proper blockers to do what they need to get the job done right).

Why Focus on iOS? iOS has had a framework for third party content blockers for years. If you install a content blocker for iOS, it also works with other apps depending on which webview they use. For instance they work with Feedly.

The iOS version of Focus is implemented as a content blocker, and you can use it across the system.

Not across the system, though. It only works in Safari. For system ad-blocking, the easiest option is via DNS based Ad-blocker services like Adguard Pro or Adblock (both are paid apps and available on the App Store).

There's also the VPN option. PIA, for example, comes with its own system ad-blocker (MACE) although it's nowhere as good as Adguard Pro (which allows you to use custom DNS server).

It's not just Safari. The only times I really care about ad blocking are using the web with safari and Feedly and watching video. The content blocker also works with web view embedded in Feedly.

I very seldomly watch live ad supported video. I have ad free Hulu. For the two networks that aren't on Hulu - CW and CBS, I watch VOD from them via Plex. Because of the way that the Plex channels work, they skip the ads.

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