Ad Scrubber 1.0

Ad Scrubber is an open-source content filtering tool designed for the Safari browser, which blocks third-party scripts and over 25,000 websites identified for serving ads or malware. The application is developed in Swift as a Content Blocker Extension, allowing users to implement custom content-filtering rules through support for two formats: hosts file format and WebKit Content Blocker JSON format.

Regarding hosts files, Ad Scrubber utilizes curated lists of ad and malware-serving sites—traditionally employed to optimize browsing on laptops and desktops—by leveraging Safari's Content Blocker capability on mobile devices. Its default list is based on Steven Black's "amalgamated hosts file" (available at https://github.com/StevenBlack/hosts). When using hosts files, Ad Scrubber ensures the blocking of third-party scripts, although it is worth noting that Safari may restrict the implementation of very large rule sets in this format.

In addition to hosts files, Ad Scrubber supports loading rules in WebKit Content Blocker JSON format (see: https://webkit.org/blog/3476/content-blockers-first-look/). When such JSON rules are imported, they are presented to Safari unaltered, without additional blocking rules for third-party scripts. Similar to hosts files, Safari may limit the execution of extensive or complex rule configurations when using Content Blocker JSON files.