Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Apple approves Facebook and Apple News ad blocker on iOS 9

David Curry
By

1 of 5
apple native ad blocker been choice adblocker ios white
apple native ad blocker been choice adblocker ios blue
apple native ad blocker been choice adblocker ios green
apple native ad blocker been choice adblocker ios orange
apple native ad blocker been choice adblocker ios yellow
Apple began its spree of ad blocker approvals earlier this month with the launch of iOS 9, but has upped the ante with the recent approval of Been Choice on the App Store this week.

Been Choice offers a content blocker for Safari and a VPN service to block native ads. That latter option is new to iOS 9 and could be much more detrimental to mobile ad revenue than ad blocking services for the Web, since most content is consumed on mobile apps.

Related Videos

The VPN service filters out ad traffic using deep packet inspection, letting users view apps like Facebook, Apple News, Yahoo News, New York Times, and Pinterest without mobile ads. It can block pre-roll video, sponsored posts and native ads. The only apps able to circumvent Been Choice are those with end-to-end encryption, for which the system cannot distinguish ad-content from non ad-content. Twitter is the most noteable iOS app that offers end-to-end encryption.

Related

This type of ad blocking is not new, businesses have used VPN services in the past to make sure content doesn’t leak out onto the Web. The difference is that with Been Choice, users either block the content or offer more content to advertisers and marketers in exchange for cash.

That’s right, even though Been Choice promotes the idea of choice, it is a double-edged sword: either you block the content or you feed more information to partnered marketers. The private information is monetized through PayPal credit or Amazon gift cards. It is a rather bewildering feature, considering Been Choice is pushing for more user privacy and control over adverts, yet will actively take more information from your device if you flick the switch. Been Choice only explains the additional marketer tools in the privacy policy, which is hardly ever read.

Similar to the iOS 9 paid content blockers, this seems very fishy, especially since Been Choice could effectively take personal information and send it to marketers; though it claims that doesn’t happen. It is also questionable why Apple approved this app in the first place, since it can block ads from Apple News and other apps that use iAds. This could be detrimental to publishers that invested time to build clean templates for Apple News, only to have their revenue cut off.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
The Pixel 7’s best camera trick is coming to the iPhone and all Android phones
Erasing items in Magic Eraser.

The Google Pixel series of phones, specifically the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7, have an exclusive feature called Magic Eraser. With Magic Eraser, you can get rid of unwanted objects in a photo, such as people in the background or things like power lines. As of today, Magic Eraser is becoming available to all Android phones and iPhone users through Google One.

Magic Eraser debuted on the Pixel 6 lineup, which includes the Pixel 6, Pixel 6 Pro, and the more affordable Pixel 6a, which is still available to purchase (the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro have been discontinued). If you have a Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro, you also have the Magic Eraser feature. One of the reasons I had always wanted a Pixel device is because of Magic Eraser, and it is something that I desperately wished Apple would implement.

Read more
This major Apple bug could let hackers steal your photos and wipe your device
A physical lock placed on a keyboard to represent a locked keyboard.

Apple’s macOS and iOS are often considered to be more secure than their rivals, but that doesn’t make them invulnerable. One security team recently proved that by showing how hackers could exploit Apple’s systems to access your messages, location data, and photos -- and even wipe your device entirely.

The discoveries were published on the blog of security research firm Trellix, and will be of major concern to iOS and macOS users alike, since the vulnerabilities can be exploited on both operating systems. Trellix explains that Apple patched the exploits in macOS 13.2 and iOS 16.3, which were released in January 2023, so you should update your devices as soon as you can.

Read more
Someone just paid over $60,000 for this ultra-rare iPhone
An original 2007 iPhone sealed in its original box.

When outfitted with all of the best specs, the most expensive iPhone you can buy directly from Apple is the iPhone 14 Pro Max. It retails for $1,599 if you get the highest-end 1TB model.

Blatantly ignoring Apple's current price ceiling, rare iPhones are selling for ridiculously high prices at auction, and one recently showed the world just how much a collector is willing to cough up for a rare Apple device. The iPhone in question is an original, 2007 iPhone that sold for $63,356.40 through LCG Auctions earlier this month.

Read more