As if there’s a shortage of ad blocking softwares out there, Mozilla today launched a new one for iOS. It’s called Focus and it uses the content-blocking API in iOS 9 to provide users with advanced control over what elements to block on a particular page. Users can manage settings to block tracking, analytics and of course, advertisements.
Mozilla was actually supposed to release this app last month with the Signal moniker, it comes one month late and with a new name. It’s a bit different from conventional ad blockers as it doesn’t block any and all ads on a website, instead the main focus is on a blacklist of online services that are concerned a threat to user privacy.
Focus pulls its blacklist from Disconnet.me which is a browser plug-in that keeps a list of more than 5,000 trackers, many of which are associated with ad networks. It’s also capable of identifying trackers on its own so it will keep an eye on content that follows a user from one site to the other, enabling the user to block it if need be.
There is one caveat though, Focus is only going to work with Safari on iOS, because that’s just the way iOS manages content blockers. Mozilla hopes that Apple will open up the system down the line which will enable users to combine Focus with other web browsers, like Mozilla’s very own Firefox.
Mozilla Focus is available as a free download for iOS starting today, it’s live now in the App Store.
Filed in . Read more about Apps, Ios 9 and Mozilla. Source: forbes