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I had to use the mobile version of Chrome recently on a locked down work device with an MDM policy that prevented installation of other browsers. It made me realize I had no idea just how far gone the mobile web has become with ads.
As an experiment I grabbed a random article on my Google News feed for today and opened it in Chrome with no ad blocking allowed and Samsung Internet with ad blocking enabled to compare.
Chrome produces a nightmarish hell scape of ads that just gets worse the further down you scroll.
Samsung Internet isn’t perfect because there is still a large banner taking up space at the top of the screen, but it blocks all of the ads in the article along with the website’s own ads for other articles.
The cynic in me, however, acknowledges that the truth of the situation looks more like this, even with ad blocking enabled.
Thanks for the this, I got a chuckle. Especially gizmodo…
Yup. I work from home and have a pihole on my network at home so I’ve gotten used to not seeing the ads.
Was browsing on mobile data while on the road and was reminded why its necessary. It was unbearable.
I’m working on setting up a VPN, so even when mobile I’ll connect back through my home network to view filtered adverts. At least, I might end up using DNS from my home anyway.
use nextdns
I do the same with an (almost) always-on vpn to the same pi with wireguard set up. I use Tasker on Android to auto start the wireguard tunnel if I disconnect from my home Wi-Fi. I typically only disable it if I’m running into issues with an app etc, and I’m too lazy to dig into and whitelist any relevant domain.
Would be nice if such behaviour tanked SEO
From what I understand, web crawlers see a totally different version of the site than users do
Only due to using a different user agent, it’s totally possible to build a for-the-people pagerank that would see what we see and deprioritize stuff like ads and fluff on recipe pages
it’s totally possible to build a for-the-people pagerank that would see what we see and deprioritize stuff like ads and fluff on recipe pages
Why haven’t you built it then?
No profit in doing it.
What, you don’t enjoy ads on your articles that are also ads?
don’t you enjoy discussing with your friends and family what interesting ads you’ve seen lately? - what marketers think people actually do
What godawful browser is injecting that ai nonsense? The ads are bad enough but the browser itself seems to be using 1/3rd of the screen
This is on an iPhone. They’re using Microsoft’s Edge “browser” which is just a reskinned Safari.
For those who don’t know, Apple’s developer terms explicitly state:
2.5.6 Apps that browse the web must use the appropriate WebKit framework and WebKit JavaScript.
It’s not Edge. They’re using the Google app.
Does it support add-ons?
It supports ad ons.
Lol
Until Apple changes the rule to comply with new EU laws. Hope those laws will affect users globally, not just in the EU.
Hope those laws will affect users globally, not just in the EU.
Maybe. You know how Apple how is. Lol
i could really see it going either way. apple likes to pander to the developer crowd, and they also like to have a consistent and streamlined operating system. both of those things would be strong incentives to roll out the changes worldwide. (many in the “developer crowd” would probably want access to third party app stores and non webkit browsers, and many people who don’t follow technology closely might be very confused by things like the firefox app being fundamentally different in the EU vs US.)
depending on how the laws are enforced, people could also theoretically switch their phone region to the EU in order to download those apps.
although apple also loves to have control over their operating system, and they have a pretty large market share in the US. i doubt they’d love giving up that much control.
I’m not sure why you’re going out of your way to take a dig at Apple here, when they have nothing to do with this AI bs taking up valuable UI space. Safari’s UI goes away almost completely, except for a little sliver on bottom of the screen once you scroll.
It’s not really “going out of my way to dig at Apple”
There’s little reason to use any other browser on iOS because of the policy they enforce. If all you’re getting is just Safari with a different face, you’re literally making your browsing experience slower and worse. Some people don’t know this so my comment educates them on such.
Wait. So you can’t install Firefox and uBlock Origin on iPhone?
I’ve been contemplating moving to an iPhone but this is actually quite a big turn off.
Firefox doesn’t support extensions on iOS. As it’s currently impossible. Due to Apple’s restrictions forcing the use of WebKit, this makes Firefox (Gecko) extensions incompatible. Additionally, Apple’s own extension system for WebKit is proprietary. https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/add-ons-firefox-ios
As far as features go, what can’t natively be done is handled with JavaScript injections. As WebKit allows you to do this. Since it’s locked down most take advantage of this. Naturally, injecting several functions can slow down the web experience. About the only feature IMO that will matter to most people is the ability to sync content. Such as passwords and browsing history.
Sorry, I edited my post after doing some research and came across Mozilla’s own articles stating the same.
Oh. No worries. Lol. Wild timing on that.
If the EU ruling ends up being a thing for the rest of the world out of simplicity, then iOS users are stuck in a shitty situation.
The browser chosen on the iPhone is less about the engine (as it will always be WebKit) and more about what it syncs with. If you use Firefox, Edge, Chrome, or whatever on the desktop, using the same on iOS will allow your tabs and bookmarks to sync. I think that’s the main driver of people using other browsers on iOS.
Idk why the other guys saying it’s some edge browser. This is the google app on iPhone. The bottom part pops up when you click on articles because they’re pushing their AI summaries. It’s actually a great feature but it’s annoying how much space it takes up
Firefox and uBlock Origin…. Now sadly I wish I could find something like that on iPhone.
Change the phone dns to nextdns.io or adguards dns. Use dns over https if possible.
Just use adguard on an iPhone. I see 0 ads across all apps I use.
Setup a PiHole. Not 100% guaranteed but it stops a lot.
Can’t exactly carry a pihole with you everywhere….
My home wireguard run off my phone. I just connect my phone to my home wireguard when out of the house.
Was coming to say exactly this.
nextdns
Not sure atm what the extension I use for safari on iPhone is called, but it works great for me. I‘ll look it up when I get to it
Late Update: I use Hyperweb, the free version is totally enough for me and works great
I love how it just keep getting worst as I scroll.
Weird, I don’t see anything like this on firefox.
deleted by creator
Calyxos+firefox+ublock for phone
Gentoo+librewolf+ublock for the home
And yet they’re baffled as to why so many people use adblockers
Why do you choose to view ads? Inaction is a choice.
