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AdBlock no longer supported?
#45705 07/15/17 09:57 AM
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jchuzi Offline OP
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This article, Apple no longer accepting VPN-based ad blockers to App Store implies that Apple will no longer support apps like AdBlock. This is over my head. Can someone explain what it means?

Last edited by jchuzi; 07/15/17 09:59 AM.

Jon

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Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
jchuzi #45706 07/15/17 10:35 AM
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Since add-ons such as AdBlock Plus are integrated into one's browser, how would Apple's treatment via the App Store affect such?

Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
grelber #45708 07/15/17 01:35 PM
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Originally Posted By: grelber
Since add-ons such as AdBlock Plus are integrated into one's browser, how would Apple's treatment via the App Store affect such?

You are confusing the Safari Ad-Block extension with the Ad-Block app.

The Safari Ad-Block extension is installed in Safari and effects ONLY Safari. The Ad-Block app is installed in the applications folder, resides in the menu bar, and effects all internet browsers and apps on the system. The app is a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that forces all internet communications to go through the Ad-Block servers and the advertising is blocked there and not in the computer. From the description in the article…
Originally Posted By: Appleinsider
Koperski was also informed that AdBlock violates section 4.2.1 of the App Store Review Guidelines, which states, "Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and should indicate that integration in their app description."Further, Apple specifically called out AdBlock's use of VPN profiles and root certificates to block content in a third-party app, a practice not allowed on the App Store, the report said.
…Apple's decision seems straight forward and supportable based on their published standards.

I would also point out that features built into Safari 11, the current version of Safari Technology Preview for Sierra and Safari Technology Preview for High Sierra offer far more control and precision for Safari extensions such as Ad-Block. On a website by website basis these new browsers permit...
  • activating content blocking extensions
  • Using Reader if available
  • Page Zoom
  • Controlling autoplay audio and video
  • camera access
  • microphone access
  • location information
That cannot be done with an app so even though I use the Ad-Block app I doubt I will miss it when it is gone.

My question is whether or not this will effect the multitude of non-ad-blocking VPN apps in the App Store.


If we knew what it was we were doing, it wouldn't be called research, would it?

— Albert Einstein
Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
joemikeb #45710 07/15/17 02:03 PM
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jchuzi Offline OP
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Thank you for a very clear explanation. I, too, had confused the app with the extension.


Jon

macOS 11.7.10, iMac Retina 5K 27-inch, late 2014, 3.5 GHz Intel Core i5, 1 TB fusion drive, 16 GB RAM, Epson SureColor P600, Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, MS Office 365
Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
joemikeb #45712 07/15/17 03:23 PM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
Originally Posted By: grelber
Since add-ons such as AdBlock Plus are integrated into one's browser, how would Apple's treatment via the App Store affect such?

You are confusing the Safari Ad-Block extension with the Ad-Block app.

I didn't even know there was an app (vs the extension).
And I second Jon's appreciation for the elucidation.

Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
joemikeb #45715 07/16/17 05:38 AM
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Originally Posted By: joemikeb
The Safari Ad-Block extension is installed in Safari and effects ONLY Safari. The Ad-Block app is installed in the applications folder, resides in the menu bar, and effects all internet browsers and apps on the system.

Thanks for the clarification, but I'm totally confused about which piece of software this thread deals with.

A search for "future mind ad block", the subject of Jon's linked article, comes up with an iOS app, but not the macOS app you've implied, and a search for "ad block" (various spellings) doesn't seem to come up with it either, so would you please post a link to it?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
artie505 #45719 07/17/17 05:31 AM
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This thread deals with the application, not the extension.

The AdBlock application blocked ads in every program on your computer, because it modified your computer's settings to route 100% of all your Internet activity through AdBlock's servers. Essentially, every Internet request you made through any browser or any other application was directed through servers run by AdBlock, which would inspect all your traffic (potentially giving them access to FTP passwords, lists of Web sites you visited, games you played, you name it) and stripping out any ads it recognized.

I am a bit surprised AdBlock did this, and think it should be obvious why doing this is a very very very bad idea.

Last edited by tacit; 07/17/17 05:32 AM.

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Re: AdBlock no longer supported?
tacit #45722 07/17/17 05:55 AM
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Thanks for clarifying AdBlock's functionality, tacit. (Now that I understand how it works, I'm surprised that joemike is running it.)

I know that this thread deals with the app, not the extension, but I can only find an iOS app, whereas joemike seems to have referenced a macOS app, thus my request for a link.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire

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