When I think of contenct blockers, I immediately think of uBlock Origin ( which is so much more than just a content blocker but, for the sake of this article, let’s pretend it’s just that ). Unfortunately, Safari users can’t enjoy the benefits of such an extension anymore. Why? Because Apple won’t allow it…
uBlock Origin was ported to Safari in 2016, and was updated regulary until 2018 when development completley stopped because Apple started to phase out Safari extensions.
With the release of macOS Mojave and Safari 12, legacy Safari extensions were still allowed, but they came with a warning saying that they will slow down your browser experience. Which wasn’t true. At least not in the case of uBlock Origin. Apple also shut down their Safari extension gallary, redirecting users to the Mac App Store.
Instead, Apple, started to implement a new extensions framework that is extremley limited in adblocking functions, only allowing “content blockers” ( which are just links bundled as an app which Safari enforces ) .
Since then Apple has begun phasing out Safari extensions as extensions, and has instead been implenting a new extensions framework which is extremley limited in adblocking functions, only allowing “content blockers”, which are just links bundled as an app which Safari enforces.
Which takes me to Hush… a free and open source content blocker, specifically written for Safari ( using SwiftUI ).
Features
- Private – Unlike some blockers, Hush has absolutely no access to your browser habits or passwords. Nor does it track behavior or collect crash reports – nothing leaves your device.
- Free – Everything is free of charge. Forever. No in-app purchases, no nonsense. However, any help towards covering the yearly Apple Developer fee is greatly appreciated.
- Fast – The app is primarily a host of rules that integrates with Safari in a native, lightweight way, making the blocking efficient and fast.
- Simple – It’s as easy as downloading the app and enabling it in Safari settings. No configuration or maintenance needed.
- Open Source – The source code is published under the permissive MIT license.
- Modern – Hush is written in Apple’s latest programming paradigm Swift UI and has native support for M1 processors.
- Tiny – The app download clocks in at less than half a megabyte.
Not only that but Hush works on both macOS and iOS. However, here’s the catch…. Hush requires you to run macOS Big Sur and iOS 14.
If you’re a Safari users and want to start blocking cookie notices, annoying popovers that ask you to join newsletters and other annoyances, download Hush for iOS from the App Store and macOS from the Mac App Store ( or direct download ) and enable it:
- on iOS go to Settings > Safari > Content Blockers
- on macOS, enable it in Safari’s Preferences
