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Safari's Distraction Control will obliterate annoying website elements

Distraction Control in Safari for iOS 18

Last updated 1 week ago

Arriving as part of the iOS 18 , iPadOS 18 , and macOS Sequoia developer betas, Safari is getting a new feature. Distraction Control allows users to get rid of distracting elements from a webpage.

The feature operates fairly simply, with users needing to navigate to the Page Menu in the Smart Search field to select it. After that, they can click on an element of the webpage, and it will be removed from view.

While the feature sounds as if it functions as an ad blocker, it isn't designed to do that. Indeed, on first try, users are informed by a pop-up that Distraction Control cannot permanently remove advertising.

Distraction Control can permanently remove static items from a page from the browser, but only for elements that don't regularly change. Since website advertising often refreshes regularly, Distraction Control will still allow ads to show.

This also applies to autoplaying videos on webpages. If the video refreshes, a previously hidden video element will reappear on the page.

This is also not an automatic feature. It won't work to remove a type of element from a page all the time, but it will hide bits that users actively select, one element at a time.

The changes are also made per-device and don't sync across your devices. If you hide an item on your Mac , you'll still see it on your iPhone .

If you elect to hide a GDPR or cookie banner from a page, the page will treat the action just as if a user clicked away and didn't select an option on the banner. Whatever action the page takes when this happens is entirely based on the page's coding.

Hidden elements can also be brought back by selecting the Hide icon in the search field, then "Show Hidden Items."

Users of the developer betas of iOS 18.0, iPadOS 18.0, and macOS Sequoia are now able to try out the feature following installation of the fifth developer beta.

A troubled backstory

In April, AppleInsider first reported on a feature in Safari 18 that would allow users to block unwanted content on a webpage. Tentatively known as Web Eraser, the feature effectively functioned just how Distraction Control does, by wiping away unwanted elements of the page.

However, by June, the feature was missing from beta releases, after appearing in pre-release development builds.

There was no indication as to why the feature was removed. Even so, Web Eraser did cause some uproar from online publishers.

Following AppleInsider's reporting, major industry associations in the publishing and advertising sectors sent complaints to Apple. In its May complaint , the News Media Association considered the feature an ad blocker, declaring it "a blunt instrument which frustrates the ability of content creators to sustainably fund their work."

News Media Association chief Owen Meredith went on to criticize Apple for developing a tool that has "potentially significant consequences on how publishers' content is used or displayed on Apple devices," all without involving publishers.

A group of French publishing associations also sent a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook on May 29, complaining that it could threaten 100,000 jobs in France that depend on online ads.

The World Wide Web is clearly broken. For recipes, I'm old enough to remember that it actually worked better in the 1990s.

Yes, please! Crush those cookie warnings. If a website demands me to approve of cookie usage beyond the basic configuration stuff, I'd prefer browser to blank it out.

pjg said: The World Wide Web is clearly broken. For recipes, I'm old enough to remember that it actually worked better in the 1990s. Yeah. If you try to find an article on how to fix something or do something, it seems 9 times out of 10, the how-to article is an assault of ads that burns down your battery while trying to read the paragraph that tells you how to do something is a needle in a haystack.

This will be great! I'm really looking forward to obliterating those annoying "Watch the Latest from AppleInsider TV" pop ups in every article.

Hard call. I use ad-blockers on all my browsers for desktop web-use - it's the only sane experience I can handle when on for more than 30 minutes - my iOS experience is a comparable nightmare. But, I certainly know a lot of small-scale art, comic, creative, and specialty site owners that very-much depend on their 'garbage ad' revenue to support a page that allows them to communicate unique and quality content - and they all work full-time at real jobs - so you know they're not just influencer/off-grid/ unemployables - apparently, semi-popular sites cost money -and- contribute real-world one-of-a-kind variety I don't want to lose. There must be some ad-revenue 'thoughtful' model that, maybe, allows 'deep content' (not front page) to be only accessed by selecting a few user-selected companies to display non-distracting ads that more likely are somewhat applicable to user. Combine that with good deals by sites getting together to negotiate better revenue deals. At the end of the day, the garbage ad brokers such as Outbrain really are just hackers, eye-ball pirates, and trash-content promoters rather than legitimate non-profits (maybe) that are trying to bridge the gap with quality companies using one of the few remaining venues for promotions. I was always surprised that no one has really pushed 'pay for article' fees - pay 10c to 25c for access to an article based on a no-ads wallet you top-up every month - I would be willing to pay $10 per month to throw such change at various sites for good quality articles without ads - which would b different than a subscription since sites rarely have consistently good content. Meh my 2c.

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Safari beta lets you selectively block distractions like pop-ups

You'll get to choose which page element to block on a site, as long as it doesn't change..

Ahead of the full release of iOS 18 , iPadOS 18, macOS Sequoia and more, Apple continues to bring updates to the betas it's made available to early testers . Today, the company has dropped the fifth developer beta to those platforms, and with it comes a few changes to Safari and Photos. Specifically, Apple's browser is getting some tools that could make surfing today's cluttered and overwhelming web pages a lot less distracting, with something called Distraction Control.

Is Safari's Distraction Control an ad blocker?

To be clear, this isn't intended to be an ad blocker. It's for parts of a page that distract you, like an overlay asking you to subscribe or even requests to use cookies. When you land on a website, you can press the Page Menu button in the Search field (where the Reader and Viewer buttons are). There, you can tap "Hide Distracting Items" and go on to choose which parts of a page you want to filter out. Subsequently, that part will be blocked on that domain moving forward on repeated visits.

There are a few important caveats, though. The first time you click on Distraction Control, Apple will inform you that it won't permanently remove ads or other areas where content might change or get updated. Since on-page banner ads usually refresh on each visit, this renders Distraction Control useless for those elements.

You'll also be the one selecting which parts of the site to hide, and there's no artificial intelligence automatically detecting which components might be deemed distracting. You'll see a blue outline over certain areas and can tap to select them. According to Apple, nothing will be hidden unless a user proactively selects it. You'll also be able to unhide items afterwards, by going back to the hide icon in the search field and choosing "Show hidden items."

If something you've chosen to block, like a headline or an ad, has changed in any way, it will resurface upon your next visit.

How does Distraction Control handle those pesky GDPR cookie requests?

Theoretically, you would also be able to use Distraction Control to hide the dialogs with the GDPR-stipulated cookies permission requests. If you choose to block those, the website would just be told you closed its request without an answer. Based on the legal requirements in different regions, the website would then have to proceed based on that information.

It's not yet clear how Distraction Control will handle paywalls, especially since there are different ways that content is protected.

The fifth developer beta also brings with it features that were teased at WWDC , like a redesigned Reader and Highlights, which brings up summarized information from a website like a business' hours or phone number. There's also a new Viewer experience that works when Safari detects a video on the page and puts in front and center. It'll also give you system playback controls in this mode, including picture-in-picture.

If you're curious about how the new tools and Distraction Control work, you can run Apple's developer beta. Just know that since you'll be opting in to preview software, there may be bugs or quirks, so make sure to backup your data before you proceed. According to the information accompanying the iOS 18 beta 5 update, it requires 7.11GB of storage, too.

Update, August 5 2024, 1:31PM ET: This story has been updated to clarify that hiding distracting items only applies to that specific domain moving forward, and not all websites across the internet.

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Here’s how Safari’s new Distraction Control lets you snap away annoying ads like Thanos

In macOS Sequoia and iOS/iPadOS 18, Apple will introduce a new Safari feature called Distraction Control, which allows users to select an element on a website and make it disappear. It’s not an ad blocker in that it stops ad elements from loading in the first place; ads still load, but if you implement Distraction Control, you can make them go away temporarily.

The feature isn’t just for ads–it can be used on any webpage element, including actual content elements such as headlines, paragraphs, images, video windows, and more. Anything you deem distracting, you can use Distraction Control.

Distraction Control is part of the macOS Sequoia beta 5 that was released to developers earlier this week; a public beta should be coming soon. It’s not in the macOS Sequoia 15.1 beta that features Apple Intelligence, and it’s not known if it will be available in later versions of that beta. It’s also not clear if the feature will be coming to Safari in macOS Sonoma or other older versions of macOS. Here’s how to use Safari’s Distraction Control in macOS Sequoia:

At a glance

Page Menu option

In Safari for macOS Sequoia, you’ll find a new Page Menu icon on the left side of the address bar. It replaces the Add page to Reading List (a circle with a “+” symbol) that would appear when you moved the cursor to that space.

Click on the Page Menu icon and you’ll see a pop-up menu. If the page can be formatted for Reader View, a Show Reader button along with the title of the webpage appears at the top of the pop-up. Below that (or at the top, if the Show Reader option isn’t available, see image above), you’ll find a Hide Distracting Items option.

Click on Hide Distracting Items . A pop-up appears to tell you that, “Hiding distracting items will not permanently remove ads and other content that update frequently.” Click OK and then proceed to step 2.

Pick your distracting item

After activating Hide Distracting Items , whenever you move the cursor over something on a webpage, you’ll see a blue box surrounding it. This indicates which element will disappear if you click on it.

Make the item disappear

When you want to make an item go away, hover over it until the blue box appears, and then click. You’ll see an animation of the element dissolve and then disappear. (I like to call Distraction Control the Thanos feature .) When you remove an item, the webpage reorganizes to fill in the gap, so you’re not left with a distracting blank space

In the macOS Sequoia beta, there don’t seem to be any restrictions on what you can make disappear. You can select the very top header of a webpage, the very bottom footer, and anything in between. You can make everything on a webpage disappear and end up with a blank page.

The items are supposed to stay hidden through page refreshes or reloads unless something about that item changes. In my experience with macOS Sequoia beta 5, the behavior of items staying hidden through page reloads was inconsistent. This could change in future betas.

Cancel or Done

In the address bar, you’ll see a tally of the items you’ve removed. You can click Cance l to reinstate the items or Done if you’re satisfied.

Make the items reappear

f you decide you want to be like Bruce Banner and bring the items back, here’s how:

・Click the Page Menu icon in the address bar.

・A new Show Hidden Items option appears. Select it to unhide the items.

・A confirmation window will appear. Click Show if you want to proceed or Cancel if you change your mind.

・The items are re-inserted into the webpage. You can hide them again if you wish.

Since this feature is in beta, Apple is seeking feedback to fine-tune it. You can provide feedback by selecting Report Distraction Control Issue in the Page Manu. This will launch the Feedback Assistant app, where you’ll need to sign in with your Apple Account.

iOS/iPadOS 18 beta 5 also updates Safari with Distraction Control. You can learn more about the macOS Sequoia beta and iOS 18 beta and how you can install them in our superguides.

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Apple Maps on Web Now Supports Firefox Browser

• Thread starter MacRumors
• Start date Friday at 9:47 AM
• Sort by reaction score
• News and Article Discussion
• MacRumors.com News Discussion

macrumors bot

• Friday at 9:47 AM

macrumors regular

• Friday at 9:52 AM

I love standards; there are so many to choose from.  

TigerNike23

Macrumors 6502a.

• Friday at 9:54 AM

Really wish they’d rerelease Safari on Windows. Right now your choices are Chromium-based or Firefox. Want WebKit? You’re SOL.  

coffeemilktea

Macrumors 65816.

• Friday at 10:03 AM

star-affinity

Macrumors 68000.

• Friday at 10:07 AM

But no 3D view of cities (some) like when using the Maps app it seems? Maybe coming later.  

macrumors newbie

• Friday at 10:08 AM

Why was a screenshot of Safari included in the post?  

macrumors 6502

• Friday at 10:50 AM

Not sure why the OS is important; this is not DRM. Doesn't work on my Linux (primary) systems.  

• Friday at 11:25 AM

Looks like SeaMonkey is still not supported.  

ProbablyDylan

• Friday at 11:34 AM

Would be nice if their iCloud extension worked with Firefox. Could finally kick Edge to the curb.  

macrumors 68040

• Friday at 11:54 AM

TigerNike23 said: Really wish they’d rerelease Safari on Windows. Right now your choices are Chromium-based or Firefox. Want WebKit? You’re SOL. Click to expand...

• Friday at 11:56 AM

macrumors 604

• Friday at 1:25 PM

coffeemilktea said: I'm glad they're finally supporting the greatest browser of all. sent from my work PC's Microsoft Edge Click to expand...

• Friday at 1:26 PM

topcat001 said: Not sure why the OS is important; this is not DRM. Doesn't work on my Linux (primary) systems. Click to expand...

Digital Dude

• Friday at 1:29 PM

I tried it and it doesn’t work for me. 🤷‍♂️ ’just as well because I’m much happier with DuckDuckGo.  

Baritone_Guy

• Friday at 1:43 PM

Does it let you sign in yet?  

• Friday at 2:07 PM

coolfactor said: Firefox has definitely improved, but what makes it the "greatest" in your opinion? Click to expand...

• Friday at 2:57 PM

Apple Maps already is the default map service using DuckDuckGo, and has been working on FireFox since.  

• Friday at 3:02 PM

Good! It was an odd limitation to begin with, as changing the user agent in Firefox to something else (i.e. Chrome, Safari, etc.) allowed Maps to load without issue. There may have been some obscure compatibility issue that I didn't run into, but everything seemed to work just fine.  

macrumors 68030

• Friday at 7:25 PM

noraa said: Good! It was an odd limitation to begin with, as changing the user agent in Firefox to something else (i.e. Chrome, Safari, etc.) allowed Maps to load without issue. There may have been some obscure compatibility issue that I didn't run into, but everything seemed to work just fine. Click to expand...

macrumors 603

• Friday at 8:10 PM

macrumors member

• Saturday at 12:55 AM
• Saturday at 12:57 AM

Sogeman said: Windows only just got rid of IE. They don't need the new incarnation of IE Click to expand...

• Saturday at 12:58 AM

jonblatho said: I suppose it could be some functionality that isn't publicly available on the web version yet, like Look Around, which Apple mentioned in its announcement is coming to the web version. (If only they'd bring it to the rest of the U.S...) Click to expand...

macrumors G4

Good to see that maps are now available on Firefox also.  

mdriftmeyer

• Saturday at 1:12 AM

coffeemilktea said: - Supports ad-blocker extensions, specifically uBlock Origin ( unlike Safari 😤) - No Manifest V3 nonsense that will make it harder to have uBlock Origin (unlike Chrome, Edge, Arc, etc) I'm sure other people can point to other Firefox features (better privacy, less resource-intensive than Chrome, etc.) that they think make it the best browser, but those two features I mentioned are the ones that matter to me. Brave is also a good second choice, for the simple reason that it still supports all the adblock extensions that rely on Manifest V2. Click to expand...