Improve your internet experience with Purify [50 Essential iOS Apps #7]

By

Website ads can take up 50 percent of the screen, but an iOS content blocker can help.
Ads on mobile devices take up valuable screen space.
Photo: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

50 Essential iOS Apps: Purify ad blocker Have you ever visited a website, only to be bombarded with pop-ups, ads and “dickbars“? Purify ad blocker for iOS will kick those annoying JavaScript trackers and ads to the curb, providing you a faster, more private browsing experience.

What is Purify?

Purify is an ad blocker that launched shortly after the introduction of the content blocker feature in iOS 9. It is designed as a powerful, full-featured tool for preventing third-party ad scripts and user-tracking tools from running. The big benefit of using a content blocker like Purify is faster page load times and a more private internet browsing experience.

Why Purify ad blocker is great

Once enabled, Purify stays out of the way, allowing you to surf the web as you normally would. Unlike VPN solutions, nothing is transmitted off of your device, providing increased privacy and a superior web browsing experience.

Since it prevents third-party scripts from running, you’ll see faster page loads and reduced web browsing data usage. Purify also blocks auto-play video ads and other disruptive content on sites, making pages feel less cluttered and distracting.

Another benefit of using an iOS content blocker instead of a VPN is the ability to refresh a page without content blockers. This can be handy when a site appears slightly broken due to a missing plugin or script. The app’s action extension allows for whitelisting websites quickly if those blocked scripts cause issues (or if you want to whitelist a website to allow scripts on that specific site).

Purify ad blocker can block lots of things by default, but you can whitelist sites.
Purify can block lots of things by default, but you can whitelist sites.
Screenshot: Ian Fuchs/Cult of Mac

Who it is for

Anyone that spends time browsing the web on their iOS device can benefit from using Purify. If you are on a limited data plan, the data saved blocking third-party scripts may also be worth it, especially considering Purify’s cheap price.

Bottom line: Purify is the best iOS ad blocker

The internet can be a scary place, and Purify is a lightweight, simple application to make it a little less creepy and a lot more enjoyable.

Price: $1.99

Download from: App Store

Want more essential iOS app reviews? Check out our ongoing series, 50 Essential iOS Apps.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.