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I think I know how to block YouTube ads with NextDNS: Scripts!

I recently looked into the 1Blocker (App) way of handling YouTube ads. Since I am on iOS (one of the most restrictive OS‘s out there), I was curious how they circumvented all the hoops of the OS to achieve their goal.

When you go to Settings> Safari> Extensions you’ll see that the App has installed a local custom script. I couldn’t find this approach with any other App. Interesting… 

Digging deeper in the Settings of the App, I found out, that the custom script is blocking CSS-Website Elements that are related to ads (and probably more).

Now I have a question and idea! Is it possible to run these type of scriptlets on the NextDNS Server, to prevent the passthrough of certain unwanted elements? For the sake of saving server capacities they could be serverside presets, non-customisable.

Even better, if we could run small custom scripts of our own, to even be more flexible? Maybe the NextDNS structure is able to handle that?

If you look into firewalls or advanced router firmwares, you often find some capabilities of custom scriplets, exactly for these types of reasons. just a noob wondering!

3 replies

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    • iOS Developer
    • Rob
    • 1 yr ago
    • Reported - view

    NextDNS is a DNS service, which means it translates hostnames to IP addresses.

    It does not deliver you the content from an address, so running such a script on their server (instead of in your browser) makes no sense, I would think.

    • Hey
    • 1 yr ago
    • Reported - view

    From what I know it's possible but they wouldn't go through with it, although it's great to be able to block YouTube/Twitch and other imbedded ads, NextDNS would have to view the entirety of your web traffic. That I don't mind since I trust the company to understand that they wouldn't do anything malicious or privacy invasive but from what I've understood it's not something that they're willing to risk and therefore not something that they'll do as it poses a privacy risk.

    • Pino
    • 1 yr ago
    • Reported - view

    Clearly for "blocking" YouTube advertising when using Apple devices: Vinegar - Tube Cleaner im App Store (apple.com) ...for a one-off fee of €2, worth every cent. The one-time purchase allows the app to be used on iPhone, iPad and Mac.

    Alternatively: Baking Soda - Tube Cleaner im App Store (apple.com) ...it should also work on other video platforms, but I have no experience with this.

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Content aside

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