1Blocker
1Blocker is an ad blocker and privacy tool for Apple devices that uses Safari's Content Blocker API to remove ads, trackers, and annoyances from websites on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It offers customizable blocking rules, an in-app firewall for tracker blocking outside Safari, and iCloud sync across devices.
Score generated by AI agents based on publicly cited evidence and reviewed by the project maintainer. Not independently validated.
Score History
Timeline events are AI-curated from public reporting. Score trajectory is derived from documented events.
1Blocker launched alongside iOS 9 as one of the first Safari content blockers, built by WWDC scholarship winner Salavat Khanov in two months. The app was free with a $2.99 in-app purchase for all categories, using Apple's new declarative Content Blocker API. With 7,000 built-in rules and granular toggle controls, it was a pure utility with minimal enshittification risk — no tracking, no ads, no investors, and transparent pricing.
After expanding to Mac in 2016 with iCloud sync and reaching 1 million downloads in 2017, 1Blocker X launched as a complete iOS rewrite with 120,000 rules split across seven extensions. The release required a new purchase with no upgrade discount for existing users, introducing mild monetization friction. The free tier remained limited to one category, and iCloud sync deepened Apple ecosystem investment.
1Blocker transitioned from one-time purchase to freemium subscription at $2.99/month, $14.99/year, or $38.99 lifetime. The free tier was restricted to one blocking category at a time, functioning as an upsell mechanism. Existing users received one year free, then faced new subscription costs for features they had previously owned. The move was framed as necessary for sustainability, but represented a material shift in the user-developer contract. The macOS version was rebuilt for Catalina's new Safari extension requirements.
1Blocker 4.0 introduced system-wide tracker blocking via a Firewall feature using iOS's VPN configuration slot, which created a meaningful lock-in trade-off: users gained broader tracker protection but lost the ability to run a third-party VPN simultaneously. Universal Purchase and Family Sharing unified the subscription across all Apple platforms. The company reached 20,000 active subscribers, validating the subscription model. Revenue grew from $216K in 2020, and the team remained at two core people.
1Blocker has matured into a full-featured privacy tool with Safari content blocking, system-wide firewall, and visionOS support. The subscription model has stabilized with competitive pricing and a $39.99 lifetime option. Lock-in has increased slightly through deeper Apple ecosystem integration and the VPN slot requirement for the firewall feature. The company remains bootstrapped, profitable, and independent with no acceptable ads program, no data collection, and no external investors.
Alternatives
Full-featured ad blocker available on iOS, macOS, and other platforms. Offers both a Safari content blocker and system-wide blocking via its iOS/Mac apps. More expensive ($79.99 lifetime vs. $39.99) but works across Apple and non-Apple devices, making it a better fit if you use multiple platforms.
Lightweight Safari content blocker for iOS and macOS with a one-time $4.99 purchase — no subscription required. Simpler than 1Blocker with fewer customization options, but effective at blocking ads and trackers with minimal setup and very low resource usage.
Dimensional Breakdown
Summaries below were written by AI agents based on the cited evidence. They are editorial interpretations, not independent research findings.
Dimension History
Timeline (21 events)
Apple Announces Content Blocker API at WWDC15
Apple announced the Safari Content Blocker API for iOS 9 at WWDC 2015, enabling third-party ad blockers on iPhone and iPad for the first time. The declarative API compiled blocking rules into a prefix tree, offering a privacy-preserving approach that did not expose browsing data to extensions. This created the technical foundation for 1Blocker's existence.
TechCrunch Reviews 1Blocker Among First iOS 9 Blockers
TechCrunch published a hands-on review of three iOS 9 content blockers including 1Blocker, Blockr, and Crystal ahead of iOS 9's public launch. 1Blocker shipped with 7,000 pre-installed blocking rules and was free to download with a $2.99 in-app purchase for unlimited categories. The review highlighted 1Blocker's granular toggle controls for ads, trackers, social widgets, and custom fonts.
1Blocker Launches on iOS App Store with iOS 9
1Blocker launched on the App Store on September 16, 2015, the same day as iOS 9's public release. Built by WWDC scholarship winner Salavat Khanov in two months during the summer, the app was free with a $2.99 in-app purchase to unlock all blocking categories. Ad blockers dominated the App Store charts within 24 hours of iOS 9's launch.
Competitor Peace Pulled from App Store After 36 Hours
Marco Arment, creator of Instapaper, pulled his iOS ad blocker Peace from the App Store after just 36 hours as the number one paid app. Arment cited moral discomfort with the blunt all-or-nothing blocking approach. Apple issued automatic refunds to all buyers. Peace's departure removed a high-profile competitor and benefited remaining blockers like 1Blocker in the nascent iOS ad-blocker market.
1Blocker Expands to Mac with iCloud Sync
1Blocker launched on the Mac App Store at $4.99, bringing content blocking to Safari on macOS with iCloud sync for custom rules and settings across iOS and Mac. The Mac version included over 28,000 built-in rules, a Safari toolbar extension for per-site whitelisting, and a web inspector tool for testing ad/tracker counts. A MacStories review found it as reliable as Ghostery during month-long testing.
1Blocker Reaches One Million App Store Downloads
1Blocker celebrated reaching 1,000,000 downloads on the App Store, approximately 20 months after launch. The company noted that downloads averaged roughly one per minute since the app's September 2015 release. The milestone was achieved while maintaining a small indie team focused on regular filter updates and feature improvements.
Apple Announces Intelligent Tracking Prevention for Safari
Apple announced Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) for Safari at WWDC 2017, using machine learning to partition and restrict third-party cookies. The 1Blocker team attended WWDC17 and noted that Apple sees ITP and content blockers like 1Blocker as complementary: ITP strips cookies from tracking requests while content blockers like 1Blocker block the requests entirely. This validated 1Blocker's approach and signaled Apple's deepening commitment to user privacy.
1Blocker X Launches as Paid Rewrite with No Upgrade Discount
1Blocker X was released as a complete rewrite on iOS, published as a separate app requiring a new purchase with no discount path for existing users. The rewrite split blocking rules into seven independent Safari content blocker extensions, each with a 50,000-rule limit, enabling up to 350,000 total rules versus the original's 50,000 cap. The app shipped with approximately 120,000 rules. Some users were frustrated at having to pay again for what they considered the same product.
1Blocker Transitions to Subscription Model, Free Tier Limited
1Blocker 3 for Mac launched alongside a full transition from one-time purchase to freemium subscription across all platforms. New pricing was set at $2.99/month, $14.99/year, or $38.99 lifetime. The free tier was limited to one blocking category at a time, down from the previous version where the in-app purchase unlocked all categories permanently. Existing premium users received one year of free access, after which they would need to subscribe at a discounted $4.99/year.
1Blocker 3 Adapts to macOS Catalina Safari Extension Changes
With macOS Catalina, Apple shifted Safari extensions entirely to the Mac App Store and deprecated the legacy extension format. 1Blocker 3 upgraded its code and overhauled its interface to comply with the new Safari App Extension model. The initial release temporarily dropped the 'hide element' picker feature, which was later restored. Some users on Mojave could not upgrade as the new version required Catalina.
Founder Explains Subscription Rationale on Medium Blog
Salavat Khanov published '1Blocker Is Going Free' on the 1Blocker blog, explaining that the paid-upfront model could not keep revenue healthy long-term because it incentivized chasing new downloads over serving existing users. The post detailed how existing customers would retain access and emphasized that the subscription would fund sustained development. The transparency was notable but did not fully address concerns from users who had purchased the app under the previous model.
1Blocker Runs First Black Friday Sale on Subscriptions
1Blocker announced its first-ever Black Friday sale offering 33% off yearly subscriptions ($9.99 vs. $14.99), 17% off monthly ($2.49 vs. $2.99), and $6 off lifetime ($32.99 vs. $38.99). The company noted they rarely run sales, making this a noteworthy event that signaled the subscription model's stabilization just one month after the transition.
1Blocker Reaches 20,000 Active Premium Subscribers
1Blocker announced reaching 20,000 active premium subscriptions, demonstrating that the freemium subscription model introduced in late 2019 was generating sustainable recurring revenue. The team reaffirmed their commitment to never taking investment or participating in Acceptable Ads programs, stating their goal was to build a sustainable and independent business.
1Blocker Adds Universal Purchase and Family Sharing
1Blocker re-released the Mac app to enable Universal Purchase and Family Sharing across Apple platforms. A single subscription now unlocked all features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with no separate purchases. Existing subscribers with active subscriptions or lifetime licenses received the new Mac app at no additional cost. The change required a full Mac app re-release due to App Store constraints.
1Blocker 4.0 Launches Firewall for System-Wide Tracker Blocking
1Blocker 4.0 introduced a Firewall feature that blocks in-app trackers system-wide using a local VPN profile, extending protection beyond Safari. The feature blocked over 9,200 trackers using open-source filter lists, with all processing done on-device. However, the Firewall occupies iOS's single VPN configuration slot, meaning users cannot simultaneously run 1Blocker's tracker blocking and a third-party VPN service.
1Blocker 5.2 Adds AMP Page Auto-Redirect
Version 5.2 introduced automatic redirection of Google AMP pages to their original versions via the 1Blocker Scripts extension. AMP pages had been a significant privacy concern because they route traffic through Google's servers. The feature required enabling the 1Blocker Scripts extension with access to all sites, offering users a choice between the AMP redirect's privacy benefits and the permission scope it required.
1Blocker Updates YouTube and Twitter Ad Blocking
Version 5.6 updated ad blocking filters for youtube.com and twitter.com, addressing changes those platforms had made to circumvent content blockers. The 1Blocker Scripts extension enabled more advanced JavaScript-based blocking that went beyond what the declarative Content Blocker API could handle, allowing 1Blocker to continue blocking YouTube video ads where simpler blockers could not.
1Blocker Launches Interactive iOS 17 Home Screen Widget
1Blocker released a new interactive widget for iOS 17 that brought tracker blocking controls to the home screen. Users could monitor blocking statistics and toggle in-app tracker blocking directly from the widget without opening the app. The feature leveraged Apple's new interactive widgets API, demonstrating continued investment in Apple platform integration.
1Blocker Launches Native visionOS App for Vision Pro
1Blocker became available as a native app and Safari extension for Apple Vision Pro on launch day. The visionOS version was built as a complete rewrite of the app's backend, designed to run natively on Apple's spatial computing platform rather than as a compatibility-mode iPad app. The release extended 1Blocker's coverage to all four Apple platforms: iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and visionOS.
Safari Content Blocker Bug Documented Causing Performance Degradation
Developer Ben Hollis documented a Safari bug that blocks the main thread while checking content blocker rules, unlike Chrome and Firefox which perform checks in the background. Testing with 1Blocker's 100,000+ rules showed Safari took 1.23 seconds for 500 image insertions versus 2 milliseconds on Chrome — a 600x performance penalty. The bug had persisted for over three years with no fix from Apple, effectively penalizing users of content blockers like 1Blocker.
1Blocker 6 Launches with Full SwiftUI Redesign
1Blocker 6 was released as a complete rebuild using SwiftUI, with a modernized interface, improved blocking quality with fewer false positives, reorganized filter subcategories for cookie notices, newsletter pop-ups, and chat widgets, and integrated firewall controls. The update was free for existing Premium subscribers. The redesign removed some customization options from the previous version, including the ability to enable/disable specific widget types, drawing some user complaints.
Evidence (35 citations)
D1: User Value Erosion
D2: Business Customer Exploitation
D3: Shareholder Extraction
D4: Lock-in & Switching Costs
D5: Twiddling & Algorithmic Opacity
D6: Dark Patterns
D7: Advertising & Monetization Pressure
D8: Competitive Conduct
D9: Labor & Governance
D10: Regulatory & Legal Posture
Scoring Log (4 entries)
Stripped for Phase 2 re-enrichment