uBlock Origin ad blocker as lite version for Apple's Safari for the first time
The popular uBlock Origin ad blocker has been available for Firefox and Edge for a long time. Now the first Safari version has been released.
uBlock Origin Lite for Safari: Not easy to find.
(Image: Raymond Hill)
Developer Raymond Hill has presented the Lite version of his ad blocker uBlock Origins for the first time as a preview for the macOS version of Safari. The extension can be found via this link in the Mac App Store. The app also runs on iOS and iPadOS and can be used free of charge.
Slight performance limitation
uBlock Origin Lite, or uBOL for short, integrates the familiar uBlock Origin filter lists by default, as well as EasyList, EasyPrivacy, and Peter Lowe's ad and tracking server list. The various rules can be customized in the settings (gear icon). According to developer Hill, no permanently running uBOL process is required for filtering. “Content filtering based on CSS/JS injection is reliably performed by the browser itself and not by the extension.” An integrated service worker process is only needed when interacting with the uBOL pop-up window or its options.
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According to a discussion on Reddit, a running uBOL nevertheless reduces the Safari benchmark results by around 10 percent; under Chrome, this is reportedly less (3 to 7 percent). However, this is likely to be more than offset by the blocked advertising. uBOL and its lists are updated regularly. With ad blockers, it should always be borne in mind that many website operators repeatedly resort to countermeasures. Most recently, for example, the Google subsidiary YouTube introduced a delay when loading videos if an ad blocker is detected.
Also for iPad, iPhone, and Vision Pro
There are currently three modes in the settings for uBOL on Mac, iPhone, and iPad: “Basic” (only a few filters), “Optimal” (strong interventions), and “Complete” (with overblocking if necessary). Languages / regions and the option to try out experimental filters are also configurable. uBOL can also filter out “badware,” i.e., content that is potentially harmful – but this is not the main task of the ad blocker.
To implement this, the application must intervene directly in the websites to be filtered. Hill states in the app store that the developer itself does not collect any data from the app. On iPhone and iPad, iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 are the minimum requirements, on Mac, it is macOS 15 (Sequoia). Apparently, the application also runs on the Vision Pro (visionOS 2 and higher).
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