26 MACWORLD APRIL 2020
MACUSER REVIEW: 1BLOCKER 3formats, and CSS. It’s also unclear how to
get started. In the Custom tab, click the
plus sign next to Advanced Customization.
This creates a new group labeled simply
“New Group.” Select it, enable it, and click
+New Rule to access a more advanced
blocking rule.
FREE AND PAID TIERS OF
1BLOCKER
1Blocker has also overhauled how it
charges with its move into the Mac App
Store. In this new release, it offers a free
version that allows turning on a single
category at a time, whitelisting sites, and
rule updates, though the
updates are less frequent than
the paid release.
The paid subscription
version lets you enable any and
all categories, provides twice-
weekly rule updates that are
automatically downloaded, and
offers access to advanced
customization features. This
includes the future return of the
graphical hide elements options.
Subscriptions are charged
at $2.99 a month, $14.99 a
year (with a 14-day free trial),
or $38.99 for lifetime use. At
this writing, the company has
an introductory sales
promotion that drops yearly
mmmh
1Blocker 3
PROS- Easy interface to handle
blocking major online
annoyance privacy
invasions. - Lets you see what’s
blocked on a page to
tweak settings. - No advertiser relationships.
CONS - Hide Element feature not
yet added to new release. - Blocked elements list
shows just URLs. - Rules are grouped only by
category, making it difficult
to enable specific services
while blocking all others.
PRICE
Free (in-app purchases)
COMPANY
Salavat Khanov
pricing to $9.99 and lifetime use to
$32.99.
Existing owners of previous releases of
1Blocker aren’t required to pay for an
upgrade, however. They receive access to
all new features at no cost except frequent
rule updates. That’s an additional $1.99 a
month, $4.99 a year, or $12.99 for a
permanent license.
A single subscription works across all
iOS and macOS devices connected to a
single iCloud account.BOTTOM LINE
1Blocker provides a powerful way to carve
out your web-browsing
experience in Safari 13 while still
working within Apple’s new
constraints. The updated
version is missing some features
and given its new subscription
model, should be a bigger step
up from previous releases.
1Blocker’s extension lists,
simplicity, and effectiveness
mean that it’s a worthwhile
purchase and I recommend it.
For those who want more
sophistication, the app is
intended to grow to fit their
needs, but only time will show if
the developers meet that
expectation along with their
new revenue model. ■