Safari’s New Ad-Blocker?

Is it an ad-blocker, a “distraction” remover, or both?

In the latest iPadOS 18.1 developer beta, Apple added the new “Hide Distracting Items” feature in Safari that had already been introduced in iPadOS 18 beta 5.  Since I opted to test iPadOS 18.1 to access the new Apple Intelligence features on that version, I had to wait for the second developer beta for iPadOS 18.1 to test this new Safari option.  Now that I’ve been testing it, I have not been disappointed in the slightest.

The feature is accessed via the page options button to the left of the web page URL in Safari’s menu bar.  The “Hide Distracting Items” option is listed right below the font size options, and above the “Turn On Content Blockers” option.  Once selecting it, you can tap on a web page element you want removed (like an ad), the element should be highlighted, and in the middle is an option to “Hide” the object you’ve selected.  Tapping “Hide” removes it and a satisfying animation shows the object disintegrate and float away like a cloud of digital dust.

So far I’ve found this to be most useful for removing ads.  I use a free ad-blocker app, and it definitely reduces the ad-load, but it still misses some ads, and some sites require me to disable my ad-blocker.  But since this new Safari feature is baked into the browser, I’ve been able to use it on every web page I’ve tested.

Ad-Blocker or “Distraction Control”?

Months ago before the first betas for iOS and iPadOS 18 were available, there were rumors that Apple was working on an AI-powered ad removal feature.  This feature was rumored to be called “Magic Eraser”, and was rumored to do exactly what the new “Hide Distracting Items” feature does.  Some online publications criticized Apple over the rumored move, claiming the new feature would damage their business models that partially rely on revenue generated by ads.  While I understand that ad revenue is important to some site’s business model, ad-blocker apps are already reducing ad-revenue, and it’s not as if Apple’s new Safari tool removes adds by default when a web page is opened, one must intentionally use the tool to remove one distracting item at a time.  I don’t see this feature being a major threat to ad-revenue anytime soon, at least not anymore than ad-blocker apps already are.  While it can remove more than any of the free ad-blocker apps I’ve ever tried, the fact that you have to remove each ad one at a time will likely make it most useful for web pages the user plans to be using for a while.

It seems that Apple has chosen to categorize the new feature as a distraction removal tool rather than necessarily an ad-blocker (though arguably ads are often the biggest form of distraction on most web pages) as an answer to those concerns.  This seems to be a good compromise as it positions the feature as a tool for removing distractions in general, not necessarily just ads, while for all practical intents and purposes, it functions as the best ad-blocker I’ve ever tried. Is it an ad-blocker or a distraction removal tool? Depending on which page elements you find the most “distracting”, it’s likely both.