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Best for YouTube ads
Best for Privacy
- Lacks a dedicated firewall
Best for Premium Users
We’ve determined the best ad blockers for iPhone are 1Blocker as best overall, Total Adblock for YouTube ads, NordVPN Threat Protection for privacy, and AdLock for premium users. Read on to learn more about why we picked these ad-blocking extensions and apps to keep your iPhone free of annoying ads.
1Blocker: Best for for iOS
Total Adblock: Best for YouTube ads
NordVPN Threat Protection: Best for privacy
AdLock: Best for premium users
Honorable mentions
Best ad blockers for iPhone FAQs
Bottom line: The best ad blockers for iPhone
How we tested the best ad blockers for iPhone
The best ad blockers for iPhone 2024
Ad blockers can improve your browsing experience by reducing malware and phishing attempts, increasing webpage load speeds, saving your battery life, and removing trackers for privacy. The best ad blockers for iPhone can do all of that and provide a user-friendly iPhone experience:
- 1Blocker: Best for iOS
- Total Adblock: Best for YouTube ads
- NordVPN Threat Protection: Best for privacy
- AdLock: Best for premium users
Top 4 ad blockers for iPhone compared
Ad blocker | 1Blocker |
Total Adblock |
NordVPN Threat Protection |
AdLock |
iOS app | ||||
Compatibility | macOS, Safari | Android, iOS, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Edge | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge |
Features | Blocks ads, trackers, annoyances, widgets and adult sites | Blocks ads, trackers, and malicious sites | Blocks ads, trackers, malware, and phishing attempts | Blocks ads and trackers, removes ad block walls, AdLock Player |
Learn more | Read 1Blocker Review | Get Total Adblock | Get NordVPN Threat Protection | Read AdLock Review |
1Blocker: Best for iOS
- Works seamlessly on macOS and iOS
- Lots of options, including a firewall
- No smart toggles in iOS Safari
While 1Blocker touts itself as the ad blocker built for Safari, it also blocks ads on your iOS device. With 1Blocker’s free version, you can select if you want to block one of the following categories: ads, web trackers, annoyances, widgets, comments, and adult sites. You can easily switch between the categories in the app.
1Blocker is one of the only free apps that block apps on your iPhone as well as Safari. You can get a two-week free trial of 1Blocker to try out the premium features. 1Blocker offers a lifetime premium membership for $38.99, a yearly subscription for $14.99/yr ($1.25/mo), or a monthly rate of $2.99/mo.
What we liked
If you’re a heavy Apple user, 1Blocker is a great solution. It’s built for Safari and works well for blocking ads on Macs, iPads and iPhones. 1Blocker is also easy to use. You can toggle blockers on and off inside the app.
With a premium membership, you can use 1Blocker on unlimited Apple devices that are part of the same Apple account. You can purchase a yearly, monthly, or lifetime premium membership. The premium membership allows you to turn on multiple filters at once, block trackers in apps, and also allows for advanced customization to create your own filters.
While 1Blocker says it’s created for Safari, it does block ads and other unwanted content in apps on your iPhone too.
1Blocker also offers a firewall feature that allows you to block more trackers that are running in the background of your apps. Firewalls can increase your privacy on your phone.
What we didn’t like
It’s difficult to get details about the ad blocker on 1Blocker’s website. You can’t find information about premium pricing or other features without downloading the app or finding answers through the help center.
While it’s great that 1Blocker has a free plan, you do have limited functionality, and you can enable only one filter at a time when blocking web trackers. You’ll need a premium account to block more than one type of content at a time.
1Blocker pros and cons
- Blocks different types of trackers
- Premium upgrade for additional features
- Firewall available
- Only available with Apple products
- Difficult to find information or help from 1Blocker’s website
Get 1Blocker | Read Our 1Blocker Review
Total Adblock: Best for YouTube ads
- Remove ads & trackers on YouTube, Facebook, and most websites
- Hands-off ad-blocking experience
- Easy to set up
- Free version excludes top 15,000 websites
From the makers of TotalAV antivirus, Total Adblock offers an effective ad blocker for iOS. It received top-notch ad blocking scores during our rounds of testing and it can block YouTube ads if you view them within the Total Adblock app.
What we liked
Total Adblock is easy to install on your iPhone, and the app makes it simple to turn ad blockers on and off. With the free plan, you can customize filters for ad blocking, privacy, social widgets, annoyances, security, and other miscellaneous factors. You can also create an Acceptable Ads list in case there are any content creators whose ads you want to support them.
It may seem difficult to block in-app ads on YouTube, but Total Adblock has a workaround for that. All you need to do is open the video you wish to watch, select Share, then find Total Adblock on the list of sharing options. Your YouTube video will then open in the Total Adblock app, away from video ad interruptions.
If you opt for Total Adblock Premium, there'll be no limits to the types of ads you can block and filters you can customize. You'll also get some bonus features like TotalAV antivirus protection and PC Tune-Up.
What we didn’t like
You may need to upgrade to Total Adblock Premium to get the best iOS product. The free version doesn't block ads on Safari and it excludes the top 15,000 websites as listed on Alexa.com.
Total Adblock pros and cons
- Easy to use
- Blocks ads on YouTube
- Premium plan comes with TotalAV
- Doesn't block ads in Safari
- Free version excludes top 15,000 websites
Get Total Adblock | Read Our Total Adblock Review
NordVPN Threat Protection: Best for privacy
- Threat protection - Block ads, trackers, and malicious downloads
- Works on multiple devices and browsers
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Lacks a dedicated firewall
NordVPN is widely regarded as one of the best virtual private networks (VPNs). On top of encrypting your internet traffic, Nord also comes with NordVPN Threat Protection, which is a built-in ad blocker. With the ability to block trackers and change your IP address, NordVPN is a great choice if you're looking for the utmost privacy on your iPhone.
What we liked
NordVPN Threat Protection is more than just an ad blocker. Based on our testing, it can also detect and block malware and phishing attempts from threatening your iPhone thanks to its real-time protection. Threat Protection also blocks web trackers and tracking URLs so you can stay anonymous online. The dashboard lists off the number of attempts blocked so you can rest assured that Threat Protection is working.
By opting for a VPN to block your iPhone ads, you can enhance your online privacy. NordVPN has a strict no-logs policy that's been independently audited and it's based in Panama, . It passed our DNS and WebRTC leak protection tests, ensuring your data remains safe. And it comes with plenty of specialty server options, including multihop, Onion over VPN, and obfuscated servers.
What we didn’t like
NordVPN Threat Protection can't be purchased alone, you'll need to sign up for NordVPN to access this feature. If you're looking to purchase NordVPN, it can cost anywhere from $2.99–$14.99/mo depending on how long you plan to commit to a subscription and which tier you wish to purchase. This might be pricey for some, especially if you're just looking for a free way to block those pesky ads.
NordVPN Threat Protection pros and cons
- Blocks ads and trackers
- Scans for and blocks malware
- VPN creates enhanced online privacy
- No standalone product available
- NordVPN plans can be pricey
Get NordVPN Threat Protection | Read Our NordVPN Threat Protection Review
AdLock: Best for premium users
- No ads on YouTube
- Blocks tracking ads
- Social media blocker requires paid tier
If you’re serious about getting rid of ads and unwanted content, AdLock provides a great premium subscription. With the premium subscription, you’ll be able to block ads in the browser and on iPhone apps. AdLock is also available on several different platforms, so you can use it on any device you have — however, AdLock allows you to use the product on only five devices.
What we liked
The AdLock app is intuitive and simple to navigate, which we found useful. With the free service, you can toggle Safari ad blocking on and off. It’s also easy to add websites to the allowed list inside AdLock. This way, you can make sure that your favorite content creators are still receiving support and ad revenue.
With AdLock, you can also eliminate video ads on the YouTube app. To do so, start a video inside the YouTube app. Then select the share button and share the video with AdLock. This will open the video inside the AdLock app, which blocks YouTube ads.
What we didn’t like
Unfortunately, you can block ads only inside Safari with AdLock’s free plan. To block ads on YouTube, social media apps, or other web browsers, you’ll need a premium subscription.
AdLock is also the most expensive ad-blocking option that we evaluated. For the best deal, you’ll need to pay for five years upfront and sign up on the website. We noticed some discrepancies between pricing when looking at the website and when wanting to upgrade to the app. If you upgrade through the app, your best pricing will be $29.99/yr, which you can subscribe to through Apple’s App Store.
AdLock pros and cons
- Easy-to-use app
- Allows for whitelisting
- Blocks YouTube mobile ads with premium plan
- Can block only Safari ads with the free plan
- Premium plan allows for only five devices
Get AdLock | Read Our AdLock Review
Honorable mentions
There are a variety of ad blockers available on the market, and one of these other options may better fit your needs. Here are a few other ad blockers that we evaluated:
- AdGuard: If you're looking for a content blocker to use across your devices, AdGuard is a solid option. It offers desktop apps for Windows and Safari, mobile apps for iOS and Android, and countless browser extensions, even for Opera and Yandex.
- AdBlock Plus: AdBlock Plus is a great solution if you’re looking for a simplified ad blocker for your iPhone. With AdBlock Plus, you can quickly turn ad blocking on and off, and you can easily add websites to an allow list. However, that’s about all the functionality it gives you, and it works only on Safari.
- Wipr: Wipr is another ad blocker that you may want to consider. However, the Wipr app has a $1.99 one-time fee to download. It was difficult to find information on Wipr’s overall functionality, but the Wipr app has a 4.5-star rating on Apple’s App Store and is highly regarded as a top app for productivity.
Best ad blockers for iPhone FAQs
Does Apple allow ad blockers?
Yes, Apple does allow ad blockers. There are several options available in Apple’s App Store, including our top four: 1Blocker, Total Adblock, NordVPN Threat Protection, and AdLock.
Apple also provides some built-in capabilities for blocking pop-up ads in Safari. From the Settings app, you would just need to tap Safari and then toggle the switch on for Block Pop-ups.
Do ad blockers work on iPhones?
Yes, ad blockers do work on iPhones. There are several apps available that you can download to block ads in Safari and on other apps on your iPhone.
What is a good free ad blocker for iPhone?
1Blocker is a great free ad blocker for iPhone. 1Blocker is designed specifically for Safari, so if you’re using a different browser, you’ll want an ad blocker with more browser compatibility.
How do I install an ad blocker on iPhone?
To install an ad blocker on an iPhone, you’ll first want to download the ad blocker app that you’d like to use. After downloading the app, you’ll have to give the ad blocker access to Safari through your phone’s settings. The ad blocker you select will walk you through this.
First, head to settings on your iPhone, navigate to Safari, and then select extensions inside of the Safari tab. Toggle the ad blocker on, and it’ll start blocking ads on your iPhone.
Bottom line: The best ad blockers for iPhone
There are several different ad blockers available for iPhone users, and while they all are effective in blocking ads in Safari, there are a few that stand out for additional features. From our testing, if you’re looking for an ad blocker that works with Apple devices, 1Blocker was the standout. Not only does it work with Safari, but it also blocks ads and other content on other apps throughout your phone.
1Blocker, Total AdBlock, and AdLock all offer free ad-blocking plans that work adequately for basic ad blocking. However, each of these gets even better with a premium subscription. If you’re serious about removing ads, trackers, and other unwanted content, the premium subscriptions make the ad blockers more effective. NordVPN Threat Protection comes with the NordVPN subscription if you're seeking a comprehensive solution.
4 best ad blockers for iPhone 2024
Best for | Compatibility | Learn more | |
1Blocker |
Best for iOS | macOS, Safari | Read 1Blocker Review |
Total Adblock |
Best for YouTube ads | Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Edge | Get Total Adblock |
NordVPN Threat Protection |
Best for privacy | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Edge | Get NordVPN Threat Protection |
AdLock | Best for premium users | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge | Get AdLock |
How we tested the best ad blockers for iPhone
To test each of these ad blockers, we first researched if they were compatible with Safari and iPhones. Once we determined the compatibility, we downloaded each ad blocker and went through the setup process. Once we installed and set up the ad blocker, we’d test its effectiveness in Safari, on YouTube, and in other apps on our iPhone, such as social media or games.
- Works seamlessly on macOS and iOS
- Lots of options, including a firewall
- No smart toggles in iOS Safari