Mozilla made a surprise addition to the selection of content blockers on iOS today, with the launch of Focus. The app, which was originally scheduled to land in November under the name Signal, doesn’t block every advert but any content that is served by a blacklist of web services that have been deemed a threat to the privacy of users.
Somewhat to Mozilla's bemusement, Focus won't work with its Firefox iOS app, due to an
Focus, which changed its name due to a clash with the Signal encrypted communications app from Open Whisper Systems, offers similar blockers to the Tracking Protection feature Mozilla recently released in Firefox 42. It bases decisions to load or block code based on a series of rules and a blacklist of barred content. Mozilla collaborated with Disconnect.me, a privacy-focused company run by Casey Oppenheim, to draw up an adequate blacklist.
Users will be able to share their thoughts or make complaints about the blacklist, which will be open sourced like most things Mozilla does. A “heuristics” layer, which looks at the behaviour of certain components on the web, will soon play a more prominent role in determining what is safe too, said Firefox VP Mark Mayo, who spoke with FORBES in November ahead of the launch. That means the blacklist won’t be the sole source for blocking in Focus.
The app comes with a range of toggles for blocking different kinds of content, whether they’re serving ad, analytic, or social network trackers. It’s also possible to prevent heavier content, such as certain fonts, from loading to make the web experience that little bit faster.
Content deemed risky could be anything from ad banners to analytics services running in the background, said Mayo. “When you give users some control over what’s happening they can really make that web experience theirs… content blocking can be pretty compelling for a better web experience.”
Focus is free to download from today, and Mayo believes content blocking should be a profit-free business. Making money from it “feels like a way to end up with misaligned incentive”, he added. “The reason we did [Focus] is we think there needs to be an open and transparent system.”
Since Apple made it easier to build effective ad blockers with iOS 9, users have downloaded them en masse. Not only do they promise to remove adverts many find annoying, they also remove the threat of malvertising, where users are placed at risk by ads that attempt to silently force malware on their systems.
But they also cut off revenue publications receive from ad providers who pay per views or clicks. That’s one reason Mozilla hasn’t released a full ad blocker.
Mayo said there are plans to launch an Android version of Focus, but there’s no launch date for now.
