Mozilla launches ad blocking for Firefox on iOS

Mozilla is officially launching ad blocking for Firefox on iOS today, after testing the feature over the past few weeks. The new built-in option will block most third-party ads and trackers before they load on an iPhone, reducing bandwidth use and decluttering mobile websites.

Mozilla is using Apple’s WebKit Content Blocker technology and the EasyList filter to block ads in Firefox on iOS, so you won’t need to download and install a separate extension to get it working. The ad blocking is controlled in the settings of Firefox on iOS, and Mozilla is keeping it disabled by default so you have to enable it from settings > browsing > ad blocker. You can also toggle it on or off during a browsing session from the site menu option.

Not every ad will be blocked, though. Mozilla says ads served directly by a website or ads shown in search results will still appear. Unsurprisingly, sponsored shortcuts and other sponsored content shown by Firefox when you open a new tab won’t be blocked, either.

While this is the first time Firefox has gained ad blocking support on iOS, there are plenty of rival browsers that already offer similar support. Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, and others also have built-in ad blockers on iOS.