I have iOS 15, and I can confirm that right now, I can install any Extension that is on the Safari Extensions Store for Mac. That doesn't mean they'll function great, or that the Safari Extension Store is the most complete place for extensions, but it will let me do it.
Awesome. I hope its possible to write extensionen that can do redirection. I use a third party Reddit client (Apollo), but when searching on Google, Reddit URLs only opens in the official Reddit app, which I don't like. It would be cool to make an extension that would detect that you are loading a Reddit URL, and redirect you to an in-app URL for Apollo
Hmm, how did you do this? AFAIK, Safari extension on a Mac required to be bundled with a macOS application, and there's no way to install Mac apps on iOS. The one listed in the "More Extensions" link in Settings right now are the one that uses Action Extension which has been available for a very long time (and not the new Web Extension support).
(On the other hand, I've seen 1Password people got their Web Extension version working on iPadOS, and it looks amazing[1])
That's a very welcome addition, but I'm guessing these won't be available for third-party "browsers", just like content blocking extensions?
That decision makes absolute sense for most in-app browsers (that depend on WKWebView for functionality that isn't generic web browsing), but for actual browser apps, content blockers are sorely missing.
> but for actual browser apps, content blockers are sorely missing.
A simple, but functionally very basic app that does ad-blocking on iOS is Firefox Focus. This might cover most people's basic privacy needs, but not as a fully-functioning experience (I use this more for 'one-off' site visits, where I don't want to be tracked, see ads, or have any persistent record of my visit on the device).
But for a fully-featured browser with user-configurable content, JavaScript, CSS and ad-blocking, then the little-known iCab Mobile[0] does almost everything that a desktop browser can do in terms of privacy and content-control.
I have used iCab for over 20 years across Mac OS 8, Mac OS X, and iOS.
Prior to the built-in inspector with Firefox and later Safari/Chrome, iCab was the best web debugging tool I used. iCab lost many advantages (and disadvantages) when it transitioned from its own engine to WebKit, but it still is filled with power user features
Content blockers do work for 3rd party browsers AFAIK. I use Firefox on iOS and to my understanding Magic Lasso content blocker is what’s blocking the ads. I think that since the Firefox browser is really safari and the blocker is implemented at a lower level, the content blocker just works.
No, Firefox for iOS has its own built-in ad blocker, as far as I know.
For example, iOS Chrome definitely does show ads for me on the same pages that Firefox manages to block them on, with the same content blocker iOS settings.
Thanks that’s interesting - I enabled enhanced strict tracking protection, which I thought was just related to tracking across sites. It is apparently good enough at ad blocking that I have not noticed.
AdGuard for iOS offers both Safari Content Blockers and a local VPN/DNS for 3rd party apps. The significant difference is that Safari can apply cosmetic filters, while other browsers like Chrome leave ugly placeholders where the ads would have been.
Interestingly, AdGuard for Android allows full ad-blocking + cosmetic filtering in Chrome by installing a certificate that enables local MitMing of your TLS connections. I am both impressed and creeped out by this hack and how reliable it seems to work. :)
I usually give Google shit for copying everything Apple does, but I sincerely hope that they (and Microsoft) copy this feature. I'd love to have extensions like Stylus and Microsoft Editor on my phone. Plus this would open up a massive audience of users, which would hopefully further inspire developers to build interesting and useful extensions.
There are barely any useable Safari extensions even on desktop (Mac) Safari besides maybe content blockers and we already got those on iOS. The extensions I use are all on Firefox or Edge (Chromium).
Any examples of Safari Extensions you're looking for on iOS?
I’m trying to understand why someone would install the last pass browser extension when they could install the last pass app. The app provides passwords in all contexts, not just the browser.
I don't use other contexts that require frequent sign-in procedure on my Mac.
To be honest, since I stopped using a Windows machine I almost completely switched to Apple's own keychain. That said, I still have the LastPass because it is easier to use for storing private data that does not strictly conforms to the "username and password" convention.
Good to know but I do it with a script in the Shortcuts on iOS. The app seems to be working exactly the same as the script I use.
On my script and on the Pipifier, YouTube would stop playback when you lock the device but you can resume it through tapping the play button in the control center.
I have three extensions on Chrome/Firefox that I briefly thought about porting to Safari. It didn't work out of the box, and very few people have ever requested this (most people who use extensions on desktop computers do not use Safari, though there are some).
But now that Safari mobile extensions are a thing, we are moving rapidly to make this happen. We have had a dedicated iOS app for years, but allowing people to access our functionality from within existing iOS apps has always been our goal.
I don't know how many other companies have been waiting in the wings, but I'm sure we're not the only one for whom this announcement is big news.
I am hoping this improves certain business tooling on mobile where their existing apps are subpar. For me specifically, I am thinking about HubSpot w/ Gmail.
Would love to see WebMIDI, but I suspect the options are alternate browsers in the App Store that are WKWebView's implementing it as a shim, or it will have to be added by Apple. I don't think they're letting extensions actually see the DOM.
I'm going to write one that bypasses Google AMP pages in favor of the real thing.
Will probably also write one for personal use that bypasses basic paywalls and GDPR prompts.
I have traffic to most known Facebook servers blocked on my Mac hosts file, perhaps I can't get to hosts on iOS but an extension would be the next best thing.
Finally, there are a couple bookmarking websites like verygoods.co that rely on antiquated bookmarklets that no longer function with modern browser privacy settings, I'd like to try to reverse engineer a replacement, but I'm unsure if that's possible.
> I have traffic to most known Facebook servers blocked on my Mac hosts file, perhaps I can't get to hosts on iOS but an extension would be the next best thing.
But for real, it'd be nice if Apple had some good working extensions on MacOS before porting them over to iOS.
Like nothing works right. I use Firefox mostly, with about 40 extensions. 95% of those work on Chrome / there's the exact same tool for Chrome. On MacOS... like I think literally 1 of them sort of works.
Password managers are funky. Ad blockers don't work. Wappalizer for Safari? Reddit Shine for Safari? Lighthouse for Safari? Wave or Axe for Safari? ClearURLs for Safari? Nope... none of those work. So what do you get again that does work on Safari?
I use: Tampermonkey, Dark Reader, 1Password, Adguard, Raindrop, and an extension that prevents right click hijacking (I forget the name). All work fine. Granted more need to be ported I agree. Maybe this is the perfect incentive for that to finally happen.
Not the same commenter, but I’m 99% sure what they’re talking about is “Stop The Madness”. I love it on mac — and it comes with a Firefox extension as well. Does a lot more than block hijacking, but you can enable and disable all the features individually. Highly recommended!
has anyone tested if arbitrary third party extensions (non mac store ones) are installable? and if not, how are developers expected to write & test mobile safari extensions?
i'm pretty skeptic of the prospects that apple would open up a hole in their walled garden on their own initiative. it's not like they're (currently) under any pressure or competition there.
Chrome may be the dominant browser due to performance and UI/UX, but it's gonna be interesting seeing users flock to Safari now that they'll have ad block support. Of course on iOS all browsers are using Safari anyway.
Google was smart enough to leave extensions out of Android Chrome. I don't see anything stopping Apple from porting Safari other than the fact that it's not really their style to do so. They also have very little to gain other than browser market share. That probably doesn't concern them anymore than Google having something over them.
