Apple no longer accepting VPN-based ad blockers to App Store, report says

Apple is reportedly limiting App Store distribution of VPN/root certificate-based ad blockers capable of blocking adds in other third-party apps, and will instead support only first-party content blockers offered through Safari.

The supposed policy shift came to light in an interaction between Apple and developer Future Mind, which markets a number of apps including the VPN-based content blocker AdBlock.

According to MacRumors, Future Mind recently saw a submitted update for AdBlock, which has been on the App Store since 2014, rejected by Apple's App Review Board. The group told Future Mind CTO Tomasz Koperski that Apple is no longer allowing VPN/root certificate-based ad blockers to be sold through the App Store.

"After submitting an appeal to the App Review Board, a member of the Review Team contacted me directly via phone and informed that Apple has officially changed their policy regarding VPN/root certificate based ad blockers on the App Store and is no longer accepting updates of apps, which directly block content in third party apps," Koperski said. "The only officially allowed ad blocking method is now Safari Content Blockers."

4.2.1, which says "Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and should indicate that integration in their app description," and to get even more specific, Future Mind was told the update was rejected because "Your app uses a VPN profile or root certificate to block ads or other content in a third-party app, which is not allowed on the App Store."

Koperski was also informed that AdBlock violates section 4.2.1 of the App Store Review Guidelines, which states, "Apps should use APIs and frameworks for their intended purposes and should indicate that integration in their app description."Further, Apple specifically called out AdBlock's use of VPN profiles and root certificates to block content in a third-party app, a practice not allowed on the App Store, the report said.

It seems Apple is implementing the change as developers update existing apps, as a number of titles employing VPN-based content blocking techniques are still available for download. Presumably, new app submissions that leverage similar technology will also be denied.

The policy shift comes as Apple places heavy emphasis on its web browsing experience. At WWDC 2017 in June, the company announced new features set to debut in macOS High Sierra, including autoplay video ad blocking and intelligent tracking prevention, both of which aim to cut down on intrusive advertisements.

29 Comments

XStylus 3 comments · 7 Years

About 7 years ago

Hooooooly crap am I glad to have read this article. I was just about to make a very expensive mistake. Was about to retire my Galaxy S5 and jump ship to an iPhone. Not anymore.

You'll have an easier time prying away a gun from a young Charlton Heston than foisting an un-adblockable device upon me. I'd rather suffer the throes of internet withdraw than put up with a toxic cesspool of distraction engineered, attention hijacking, consciousness derailing, apoplecticly infuriating internet advertising. HELL. NO.

osmartormenajr 286 comments · 11 Years

About 7 years ago

XStylus said:

Hooooooly crap am I glad to have read this article. I was just about to make a very expensive mistake. Was about to retire my Galaxy S5 and jump ship to an iPhone. Not anymore.

You'll have an easier time prying away a gun from a young Charlton Heston than foisting an un-adblockable device upon me. I'd rather suffer the throes of internet withdraw than put up with a toxic cesspool of distraction engineered, attention hijacking, consciousness derailing, apoplecticly infuriating internet advertising. HELL. NO.

Good riddance to you and your toy phone. Come back when you grow up. Or are you just a troll that is being willfully obtuse?

Much (if not all) of the app functionality will be built-in to Safari now. Besides, most of the ad blockers are scams, receiving kickbacks from advertisers that wish to be white listed.

XStylus 3 comments · 7 Years

About 7 years ago

osmartormenajr said:
Good riddance to you and your toy phone. Come back when you grow up. Or are you just a troll that is being willfully obtuse?

Much (if not all) of the app functionality will be built-in to Safari now. Besides, most of the ad blockers are scams, receiving kickbacks from advertisers that wish to be white listed.

Setting your unwarranted insult aside, it's equally as much about privacy as it is about sanity and calm. The content blocking in Safari is just that -- it's for Safari only. It won't allow me to control what various apps on my phone are doing, such as a calculator app or alarm clock app sending/receiving data from the internet when it has no business to, or apps that have trackers or other means of trying to monetize my usage. So pardon me, I'd like to think my disgust is rather justified.

sergioz 338 comments · 12 Years

About 7 years ago

XStylus said:

Hooooooly crap am I glad to have read this article. I was just about to make a very expensive mistake. Was about to retire my Galaxy S5 and jump ship to an iPhone. Not anymore.

You'll have an easier time prying away a gun from a young Charlton Heston than foisting an un-adblockable device upon me. I'd rather suffer the throes of internet withdraw than put up with a toxic cesspool of distraction engineered, attention hijacking, consciousness derailing, apoplecticly infuriating internet advertising. HELL. NO.

This only impacts fake/dummy VPN work around that was used by AdBlock, which by the way is a great app. iOS will allow regular VPN connection and there is many VPN ad blockers that will filter out ads on DNS level.

radarthekat 3902 comments · 12 Years

About 7 years ago

XStylus said:

Hooooooly crap am I glad to have read this article. I was just about to make a very expensive mistake. Was about to retire my Galaxy S5 and jump ship to an iPhone. Not anymore.

You'll have an easier time prying away a gun from a young Charlton Heston than foisting an un-adblockable device upon me. I'd rather suffer the throes of internet withdraw than put up with a toxic cesspool of distraction engineered, attention hijacking, consciousness derailing, apoplecticly infuriating internet advertising. HELL. NO.

What you're really saying is that you don't want to use Safari, because in Safari on iOS you'll still have all the ad-blocking capability, plus the world's faster mobile browser. But instead, you'll accept an Android phone, with its lack of privacy controls (relative to iPhone), poorer security, far more malware, and general inability to be updated beyond the major Android release each handset ships with. Okay. Enjoy.

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