It's a shame Firefox on iOS has failed/refused to support third-party content filters [1] since 2019. Just because they can't bring Gecko doesn't mean they shouldn't try to gain mindshare for the Mozilla Firefox brand on one of the biggest platforms, yet they refuse to put in the resources.
Somewhat ironically, you can install and use the Firefox uBO extension on Orion for iOS. Orion/Kagi figured out how to do it before Firefox/Mozilla.
graynk 11 hours ago [-]
except it doesn't work. but you can install it, yes.
I want to like Orion but I've seen the same bugs for a year now.
Aerbil313 11 hours ago [-]
I'm using Orion as my daily driver on iOS mainly because of a Safari bug[1]. It used to be very buggy, had frequent app crashes for no reason at all but nowadays (since a year?) works pretty fine, even the UBO plugin works fine.
1: You can long tap and select "Download Linked File" on any link in Safari, including links that are forbidden by Content Restrictions, such as a news.ycombinator.com link from google search. Ping me if a Safari engineer sees this and fixes it!
hedora 9 hours ago [-]
I use Orion. I hit some crashes until I told it to autoclose tabs after a few days. I’d rather leave that off, but it’s a minor problem.
I run three firefox plugins. They all work correctly.
dylan604 8 hours ago [-]
A bug that happens for no reason? Aren’t these typically some sort of memory access violation, or am I just showing my age of what used to be the cause? I know nothing of iOS inner workings, but is illegal memory access still possible where this would be the behavior?
akmann 8 hours ago [-]
What is it with said bug, that makes you use another browser because of it? Seems not like a big deal..
jeffhuys 7 hours ago [-]
It does work tho. Just not consistently lol
eddythompson80 17 hours ago [-]
Last I tried Orion was a couple of months ago. I wouldn't really say "figured out" per se. Like I see the vision, I like the vision, but I'm waiting.
freeAgent 17 hours ago [-]
I mean that they figured out how to support (most) browser extensions on iOS in their browser, unlike Firefox. They haven’t figured everything out, but I do daily drive Orion on iOS. I still prefer Firefox on desktop due to stability (and Orion’s extension advantage in mobile doesn’t extend to desktop).
SG- 16 hours ago [-]
Not most, they have figured out a few and they don't work very well.
jeffhuys 15 hours ago [-]
Really all I wanted was uBlock and that works.
That being said, after being my daily driver for almost a year, I went back to safari about a month ago with Wipr. 3x speedup and battery efficiency. Unfortunately, it became buggier instead of less buggy :(
Still use it on mac tho - vertical tabs are a game-changer.
freeAgent 6 hours ago [-]
What do you need that doesn’t work?
toofy 15 hours ago [-]
from what i understand orion is overflowing with bugs.
even without the bugs, after everything we’ve been through with crazy shit from closed sourced browser companies, the last thing i’d install would be orion/kagi. lol nuh uh.
not a chance i’d trust an ai company with almost the entirety of my online existence—especially when they close off and hide what they’re doing.
handsclean 12 hours ago [-]
Orion is not made by an AI company, it’s made by Kagi.
If you’re an open source or non-profit diehard then yes, it’s not that, but as far as closed source for-profit businesses go, they’re a lot better than most. They are a public benefit corporation that has rejected VC funding, and their main pitch is aligning user and company benefit, despite the mainstream currently railing against it.
I’m not affiliated, just a user.
JumpCrisscross 14 hours ago [-]
> from what i understand orion is overflowing with bugs
I use it as a daily driver on macOS. Not noticing the bugs anymore.
hoistbypetard 2 hours ago [-]
Do you use Bitwarden with it, by any chance? I daily drove it for quite a while, about mid 2022-late 2023. Poor bitwarden support plus a pile of paper cuts drove me away. When it worked as intended, I liked it, and I'm not opposed to paying for a good browser, but it was too buggy at that time for a subscription to feel like a good deal.
trws 13 hours ago [-]
I just started giving it a try again about a week ago, and I second this. A year ago it was nearly unusable for any extension outside their preferred list, now it’s largely a pleasant experience.
godelski 12 hours ago [-]
I use it on iPhone, it has lots of bugs. But it's worth it for the ad blocking
Larrikin 3 hours ago [-]
Why not just use AdGuard or PiHole?
stranded22 14 hours ago [-]
AI company?
I thought Orion is made by Kagi?
hoistbypetard 2 hours ago [-]
They started peddling an AI assistant a while back:
I don't think I'd have called them an AI company on that basis any more than I'd call JetBrains an AI company for the same reason. But I can see why someone might call them that.
1 hours ago [-]
rs186 10 hours ago [-]
People who install Firefox on iOS is likely a very small number. If I were the project manager of Firefox, and with such limited resources and Google's cash going away any day, I would not put in any work either.
8 hours ago [-]
17 hours ago [-]
neuroelectron 14 hours ago [-]
Apple really isn't that important.
daakus 8 hours ago [-]
Mostly using Wipr 2. Brave works very well but Safari seemed maybe slightly snappier (I know the browser engine is the same). Tried this but seems like it blocked less than Wipr 2 in a quick spot check.
azretd 22 hours ago [-]
I have used Wipr for years, and now Wipr 2. Worth the small amount to keep intrusive ads, and it is cross platform.
VignuB 14 hours ago [-]
One of the better install and forget it content blocker. The cherry on the top of the cake is that the developer is pretty responsive too.
wao0uuno 13 hours ago [-]
Yeah Wiper 2 works really well but it slows down my iPhone 12 considerably. I guess there’s not enough ram for all these filters. Still faster than AdGuard.
walterbell 19 hours ago [-]
Seconded. Small one-time license fee per major version.
sandstrom 10 hours ago [-]
On this topic, I have to recommend Hush! It is an excellent free, open-source and well-maintained app for iOS.
It's absolutely bonkers that an adblocker needs to cost $15/year, when the actual filter lists are maintained by volunteers and there's (presumably) very little in the way of code changes needed.
dylan604 8 hours ago [-]
Having the lists freely available is only part of the battle for the end user. There are different ways of using that free data, and that takes time to develop. A good blocker can also do more than just utilize that free data as well
GeekyBear 22 hours ago [-]
If you don't dont see any additional value, then chose choose one of the free ad blocking options.
One of the nice things for developers working in the Apple ecosystem is that users are willing to support well crafted software.
Although, sometimes you do run into developers as selfless as Gorhill who still craft excellent software.
9 hours ago [-]
Krasnol 14 hours ago [-]
Don't you have to pay money to host your app there in the first place which is why there is so few good, free applications?
Also: what would be "additional value" in an adblocker? Either it works or it doesn't.
hombre_fatal 1 hours ago [-]
Well, what do you think makes them work or not? A lot of constant work.
robenkleene 5 hours ago [-]
> Also: what would be "additional value" in an adblocker? Either it works or it doesn't.
uBlock has over 13k commits, include just 15 minutes ago right now.
I dunno, I’m not a fan of paying for wrappers but I get a lot from 1Blocker and I’m happy to pay for it. As far as I know it’s just one dude who builds the app, and he spends a lot of time keeping it working in the face of YouTube tactics, etc.
gruez 22 hours ago [-]
>and he spends a lot of time keeping it working in the face of YouTube tactics, etc.
Does he? Is he doing original research, or just copying whatever ublock origin/easylist puts out? After all, all the bypass methods are just javascript snippets that extensions inject into the page, so it's not like you have to spend much time porting to iOS or whatever.
MBCook 22 hours ago [-]
You think that doesn’t require time? Doing user support? Keeping up with API changes, etc?
gruez 21 hours ago [-]
I'm not claiming it requires 0 time, only that it's nowhere near the amount of time that would justify a $15/year price tag.
mynameisbob 19 hours ago [-]
You’re assuming that the price for a product should be based on the cost to offer it. In most markets, price is a function of the value perceived by buyers and relative pricing of similar products. Cost doesn’t enter into the equation.
gruez 7 hours ago [-]
I'm well aware of how markets work, but that doesn't make it less bonkers. Bottled water companies take municipal water, do some "filtering", and sell it for a 10x-100x markup. I'm sure the people buying the water thinks they're getting their money's worth, but that doesn't mean we can't point out how absurd it is, nor is " in most markets, price is a function of the value perceived by buyers and relative pricing of similar products" a satisfying counterargument to that.
hombre_fatal 1 hours ago [-]
I don’t see what’s absurd about paying a buck for the convenience of bottled water when and where you want it.
Or paying $15 for a year of someone keeping a content blocker up to date.
Maybe you are completely desynchronized from what people find valuable.
That you start valuing software at $0 because someone is producing it for free is a sad part of open source.
brookst 7 hours ago [-]
How many hours a month do you think is needed to “justify” charging $1.25/month?
If your time has so little value, please do create an alternative and offer the same level of support and updates for a price that seems more fair to you. $0.50/month maybe?
gruez 7 hours ago [-]
>If your time has so little value, please do create an alternative and offer the same level of support and updates for a price that seems more fair to you. $0.50/month maybe?
This thread is literally about someone providing a free alternative.
selcuka 19 hours ago [-]
Unless someone else makes an equivalent product and sell it for $14/year, and every user switches to the new product, this statement is moot. A product justifies its price tag as long as people are willing to buy it at that price.
Revenue optimisation is a different concern. Would they sell more if they priced it at $10? Maybe. Would the total revenue ($10 * number of users) be higher than now? Maybe not. There is a local maxima and it appears that they calculated this to be ~$15.
gruez 7 hours ago [-]
>Unless someone else makes an equivalent product and sell it for $14/year, and every user switches to the new product, this statement is moot. A product justifies its price tag as long as people are willing to buy it at that price.
adguard is free and I don't think I've encountered an ad that it didn't block. There's also open source adblockers like ublock origin lite, and some other one that was mentioned earlier this year but I forgot the name of.
bartvk 15 hours ago [-]
How many developers do you think would work even a single hour for that price tag?
gruez 7 hours ago [-]
I'm sure the app has at least 1000 paying subscribers? Take out Apple's 30% cut, and that's more than $10k a year.
bartvk 5 hours ago [-]
I found that over the years, it's easy to look at someone's business and conclude they're making bank.
ctippett 22 hours ago [-]
I use 1Blocker and I'm on a grandfathered plan that's $5 per year. It's absolutely worth it (even at $15).
lupusreal 4 hours ago [-]
Charging money fits iOS user culture though. They might even have fewer users if it was free.
browningstreet 1 days ago [-]
Yup and it works on my family plan. No brainer. It’s a set-it and forget-it install. Recommended.
phire 17 hours ago [-]
The free functionality works well enough for me that I never saw the need to look further (until now).
You can only enable one filter list, but "Ads" is a single filter list, so I just enabled that. Just means I can't enable the "Trackers" (though safari has some built in tracker blocking) or "Annoyances" lists, or add Custom rules.
Though, it's going to be a deal-breaker for anyone outside of the English speaking world, because the regional filters count as a second list.
Destiner 9 hours ago [-]
I bought a life-time plan a few years ago.
Feels like a no-brainer investment.
internet2000 1 days ago [-]
It’s okay, you can afford it.
arthurtully 7 hours ago [-]
AdGuard on iOS has worked for me for years in it's free form. It's script based so works like uBlock Origin on desktop.
dawnerd 5 hours ago [-]
I ended up just paying for it due to how much I use it. Their dns is also great at blocking I’m app ads.
inquirerGeneral 3 hours ago [-]
[dead]
Mistletoe 7 hours ago [-]
Yep love it. Any reason to switch to this?
vachina 6 hours ago [-]
Probably less reason to switch, because AdGuard can no longer command any price for their current offerings.
I like that I can use uBlock Origin in Orion on iOS but interacting with any addon in it feels finicky, so I keep it at a pretty minimal level (compared to how aggressively I block on desktop, anyways). Anything else is definitely welcome though so looking forward to it.
Just build your own copy, give apple $100/year for a developer license, move to a country in the EU, and then you can "sideload" this open-source code onto your device. You also need something running macOS.
viktorcode 3 hours ago [-]
… or sideboard for free for a week.
saintfire 2 hours ago [-]
Not sure if this was a sarcastic jab or an genuine proposed solution but I laughed either way.
thenthenthen 5 hours ago [-]
Thanks for the giggle. I built a few apps back in the day, back then you could build and deploy on local device, no need to pay 100$, isn’t this still the case if you do not want to deploy on the appstore? Anyway, your comment is worthy of a xkcd.
rsync 4 hours ago [-]
It is deeply disappointing how poorly Apple implements privacy tools and technologies.
To wit:
It is 2025 and you cannot configure a DoH endpoint in Safari on either iOS or OSX.
Further, enabling DoH in iOS involves an experts-only plist file download which has many esoteric failure modes that are difficult to track and have poor (nonexistent ?) documentation.
Finally, any regular person (like my wife) will have an almost immediate need to toggle adblocking DNS on and off for (weird site that breaks) but, of course, that is not possible without going through the entire plist file workflow twice (once to remove (not disable) the existing profile and once to re-download it).
Ridiculous. Embarrassing.
oktoberpaard 1 hours ago [-]
FWIW: you can disable DoH without uninstalling the profile. General -> VPN & device management -> DNS -> automatic.
viktorcode 3 hours ago [-]
I might be misunderstanding your problem, but if you want to easily switch DNS there is an iOS app I was using. Sadly, don’t remember what it was called, but I’m sure an AppStore search will yield possible solutions
rsync 2 hours ago [-]
We should not need an app - nor a fraught trust model and software supply chain analysis - to set a basic network setting.
I appreciate your help but I'm not downloading some rando app to set a DNS server.
Your child is getting flagged/downvoted for pointing out that Android has actual DNS settings and that person is correct.
viktorcode 1 hours ago [-]
Maybe we should not have the app to do that, but we can have it and personally I missed that one tap convenience on my Mac.
inquirerGeneral 3 hours ago [-]
[dead]
elektor 1 days ago [-]
Is this any better than AdGuard?
I’ve heard it’s best to avoid running both but unsure whether this version of uBlock is worth it.
soraminazuki 1 days ago [-]
gorhill has proven his integrity time and time again, and that's hard to beat. He works on uBO because he believes in it and not for profit. It's the one thing that I would value, especially in an ad blocker. This isn't to say that there's anything wrong with AdGuard though.
SOLAR_FIELDS 1 days ago [-]
Yeah honestly unless the developer can demonstrate that they don't allow ads through from who pay them to be allowed, pretty much no adblocker is going to be fully trustworthy. There will always be an incentive, if the adblocker is popular enough, for the dev to take money from an advertiser to bypass the block.
If I did have to trust any adblocker though, it would be gorhill's.
vehemenz 1 days ago [-]
Adguard works better right now, at least for my purposes.
uBlock is open source. Some people might object AdGuard Russian foundation, but they have distanced themselves from the conflict and employ people in Ukraine.
slowmotiony 49 minutes ago [-]
Adguard is Russian? Thanks, just cancelled my subscription.
plutokras 12 hours ago [-]
I have no complaints about AdGuard, but I will switch to this. uBlock is the best ad blocker across platforms, and gorhill is a legend.
gruez 23 hours ago [-]
It's worse IMO because it doesn't allow for custom rules, which AdGuard does.
65 5 hours ago [-]
I've been using Ad Block Pro without any problems.
pmdr 8 hours ago [-]
Firefox Focus as a content filter has always worked for me on Safari. Nowadays I mostly use Brave, though.
dylan604 8 hours ago [-]
I get too many anti-blockers when using Firefox focus to make it anything other than something a specialist would use as a daily driver
uBlock is fantastic at what it does. I'm looking forward to this. I'm currently using both Wipr 2 and AdGuard together which has worked well. AdGuard allows user defined cosmetic filters that I've come to rely on more and more in the browser, and it makes certain mobile sites so much better. Will uBlock on iOS support this?
ents 8 hours ago [-]
I run only Wipr2 and am happy with it, even if its $5 vs free, I'm happy to support a dev who makes a great app. I'll try UBOL for iOS when its available.
jjice 4 hours ago [-]
Agreed, it blows my mind that more people aren't willing to pay $5-15 ($15 in my case of running Wipr 2 and AdGuard) to clean the web on your phone. The same people in my life who wouldn't think twice about a $15 cocktail.
Nothing wrong with either, but damn the value equation is out of wack to me, it's just so worth it.
ivanjermakov 22 hours ago [-]
> Compatibility: Requires iOS 18.0 or later and visionOS 1.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision. Requires macOS 15.0 or later and a Mac with Apple Silicon chip.
wao0uuno 1 days ago [-]
It’s fast but doesn’t block all ads for me.
swasheck 8 hours ago [-]
i’m currently just using a nextdns profile after using adguard for a long time. i switched because i hoped that i would stop getting the annoying admiral modals telling me to turn off my ad blocker. do any of the these solutions trick the anti adblock solutions?
1 days ago [-]
toastal 6 hours ago [-]
I want any version of uBlock on the Sailfish OS browser
Now you have the extension built, and you have two options for getting it onto your device:
1. Pay $100/year for a developer license, create your own testflight for yourself and your friends, upload it, there you go
Or
2. Move to a european country to enable side-loading, pay $100/year for a developer license so you can sign it, and then sign + sideload it. (it's not really true sideloading, but if you're in the EU you can at least do it without testflight https://doesioshavesideloadingyet.com/ )
Oh, also, if you don't have a mac of some sort, you'll have to buy one. A mac mini is pretty cheap.
You can also buy an android device and install any extension on firefox-for-android for free without paying apple, or anyone, $100/year.
armchairhacker 3 hours ago [-]
You can install without paying $100/year. You have to reinstall the app every week but settings/data/etc. are preserved. You need a mac.
It's annoying how this adds a puzzle piece icon next to the url all the time.
gessha 9 hours ago [-]
Yeah, that happens when you install any extension for Safari iOS. I’ve learned to ignore it.
11 hours ago [-]
seam_carver 17 hours ago [-]
AdGuard doens't work for me so I'm excited on macOS
1 days ago [-]
xoatic 10 hours ago [-]
Works great both on my mac and iphone. Raymond rocks!
scosman 1 days ago [-]
Works on MacOS as well. Not just iOS.
Squarex 1 days ago [-]
Yes, but adblocking options on iOS are way more limited so it is more notable.
erdaltoprak 1 days ago [-]
Works fine so far!
I wish they could add the main settings in the app view but that’s a minor point
dom96 1 days ago [-]
Nice, seems to work pretty well
scosman 1 days ago [-]
oh happy day
isaachawley 1 days ago [-]
Can we get a link directly to the project instead of this testflight page?
altairprime 1 days ago [-]
The project page newsworthy isn’t newsworthy in any obvious way on its own, though of course anyone (including OP) could post a link to it as a helpful comment. An iOS beta signup link for it is surprising news, though!
medlazik 1 days ago [-]
The news is "uBlock Origin Lite Beta for Safari iOS" not "uBlock Origin Lite exists"
1: https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/firefox-ios/issues/5198
I want to like Orion but I've seen the same bugs for a year now.
1: You can long tap and select "Download Linked File" on any link in Safari, including links that are forbidden by Content Restrictions, such as a news.ycombinator.com link from google search. Ping me if a Safari engineer sees this and fixes it!
I run three firefox plugins. They all work correctly.
That being said, after being my daily driver for almost a year, I went back to safari about a month ago with Wipr. 3x speedup and battery efficiency. Unfortunately, it became buggier instead of less buggy :(
Still use it on mac tho - vertical tabs are a game-changer.
even without the bugs, after everything we’ve been through with crazy shit from closed sourced browser companies, the last thing i’d install would be orion/kagi. lol nuh uh.
not a chance i’d trust an ai company with almost the entirety of my online existence—especially when they close off and hide what they’re doing.
If you’re an open source or non-profit diehard then yes, it’s not that, but as far as closed source for-profit businesses go, they’re a lot better than most. They are a public benefit corporation that has rejected VC funding, and their main pitch is aligning user and company benefit, despite the mainstream currently railing against it.
I’m not affiliated, just a user.
I use it as a daily driver on macOS. Not noticing the bugs anymore.
I thought Orion is made by Kagi?
https://help.kagi.com/kagi/ai/assistant.html
I don't think I'd have called them an AI company on that basis any more than I'd call JetBrains an AI company for the same reason. But I can see why someone might call them that.
https://oblador.github.io/hush/
Is it? I don’t see any maintainer activity is the past six months.
Opened a private tab and navigated to youtube.com - got cookie consent regardless.
Closed every app, restarted safari fully - same results. Same on google maps.
Uninstalled.
https://apps.apple.com/au/app/1blocker-ad-blocker/id13655310...
One of the nice things for developers working in the Apple ecosystem is that users are willing to support well crafted software.
Although, sometimes you do run into developers as selfless as Gorhill who still craft excellent software.
Also: what would be "additional value" in an adblocker? Either it works or it doesn't.
uBlock has over 13k commits, include just 15 minutes ago right now.
https://github.com/gorhill/uBlock/commits/master/
Does he? Is he doing original research, or just copying whatever ublock origin/easylist puts out? After all, all the bypass methods are just javascript snippets that extensions inject into the page, so it's not like you have to spend much time porting to iOS or whatever.
Or paying $15 for a year of someone keeping a content blocker up to date.
Maybe you are completely desynchronized from what people find valuable.
That you start valuing software at $0 because someone is producing it for free is a sad part of open source.
If your time has so little value, please do create an alternative and offer the same level of support and updates for a price that seems more fair to you. $0.50/month maybe?
This thread is literally about someone providing a free alternative.
Revenue optimisation is a different concern. Would they sell more if they priced it at $10? Maybe. Would the total revenue ($10 * number of users) be higher than now? Maybe not. There is a local maxima and it appears that they calculated this to be ~$15.
adguard is free and I don't think I've encountered an ad that it didn't block. There's also open source adblockers like ublock origin lite, and some other one that was mentioned earlier this year but I forgot the name of.
You can only enable one filter list, but "Ads" is a single filter list, so I just enabled that. Just means I can't enable the "Trackers" (though safari has some built in tracker blocking) or "Annoyances" lists, or add Custom rules.
Though, it's going to be a deal-breaker for anyone outside of the English speaking world, because the regional filters count as a second list.
Feels like a no-brainer investment.
https://github.com/uBlockOrigin/uBOL-home
Just build your own copy, give apple $100/year for a developer license, move to a country in the EU, and then you can "sideload" this open-source code onto your device. You also need something running macOS.
To wit:
It is 2025 and you cannot configure a DoH endpoint in Safari on either iOS or OSX.
Further, enabling DoH in iOS involves an experts-only plist file download which has many esoteric failure modes that are difficult to track and have poor (nonexistent ?) documentation.
Finally, any regular person (like my wife) will have an almost immediate need to toggle adblocking DNS on and off for (weird site that breaks) but, of course, that is not possible without going through the entire plist file workflow twice (once to remove (not disable) the existing profile and once to re-download it).
Ridiculous. Embarrassing.
I appreciate your help but I'm not downloading some rando app to set a DNS server.
Your child is getting flagged/downvoted for pointing out that Android has actual DNS settings and that person is correct.
I’ve heard it’s best to avoid running both but unsure whether this version of uBlock is worth it.
If I did have to trust any adblocker though, it would be gorhill's.
I'm not sure why, but uBO Lite randomly stops working at times. I've had to fire up the test page (https://ublockorigin.github.io/uBOL-home/tests/test-filters....) many times after enabling experimental filters, but it just doesn't seem to "stick."
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43976898
Nothing wrong with either, but damn the value equation is out of wack to me, it's just so worth it.
Now you have the extension built, and you have two options for getting it onto your device:
1. Pay $100/year for a developer license, create your own testflight for yourself and your friends, upload it, there you go
Or
2. Move to a european country to enable side-loading, pay $100/year for a developer license so you can sign it, and then sign + sideload it. (it's not really true sideloading, but if you're in the EU you can at least do it without testflight https://doesioshavesideloadingyet.com/ )
Oh, also, if you don't have a mac of some sort, you'll have to buy one. A mac mini is pretty cheap.
You can also buy an android device and install any extension on firefox-for-android for free without paying apple, or anyone, $100/year.
https://www.twilio.com/en-us/blog/developers/tutorials/build..., and enable “Developer Mode” in your phone’s settings.