Pop-ups, registration masks, newsletter requests, the web is full of disruptions. A surprisingly announced Apple function should soon provide a solution. For this purpose, the manufacturer integrates the so-called “Distraction Control” into Safari 18 – which is part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS 15 Sequoia. Users are given the option to permanently hide annoying content on a website. This is done by simply clicking or tapping on the disruptive elements.
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As an example of things that can be hidden in this way, Apple cited registration masks or pop-ups that are very common in online shops and newsletters offering discounts for registration. It would also make it easier to suppress unpopular cookie banners and GDPR consent.
Apple: The feature is not an ad blocker
The company announced on Monday that this function will be prominently integrated into the menu bar. Hidden web content can be made visible again at any time. Hiding is done manually by the user and must necessarily be done on each website individually. It also does not work on all devices: hidden content settings are not synchronized between iPhone and Mac.
Distraction Control should be able to be tested with fresh beta versions of iOS 18 & Co. Safari 18 is expected to be released to the general public as an update in September.
Patchday: Attackers exploit security vulnerability in the Android kernelDuring the announcement, Apple emphasized several times that the feature was neither designed as an ad blocker nor capable of reliably removing ad banners: Distraction Control cannot permanently remove constantly changing elements of a website, including ad banners.
Latecomers with explosive power
This function had already caused a stir in the spring, although the innovation, known at the time as the “web eraser”, was only a rumor. French and British media organizations had positioned themselves against this introduction: it threatened advertising-financed content and thus also publishers and journalists. The weakening of the business model endangers high-quality information and ultimately pluralism and democracy, wrote the neighboring country’s associations – the EU Commission was also informed.
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