Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser, has announced it will launch an ad blocker made for Apple's Safari browser for iOS 9 users. The app, Focus by Firefox, is designed to block web content trackers that are on Disconnect's open source blocklist.
So why is Mozilla getting into the ad blocking business? Denelle Dixon-Thayer, the company's Chief Legal and Business Officer, gives Mozilla's reasons in a blog post:
We made Focus by Firefox because we believe content blockers need to be transparent with publishers and other content providers about how lists are created and maintained, rather than placing certain content in a permanent penalty box. We want this product to encourage a discussion about users and content providers, instead of monetizing users' mistrust and pulling value out of the Web ecosystem. Focus by Firefox is free to users and we don't monetize it in other ways.
Mozilla recently launched the iOS version of Firefox, but the new Focus ad blocker doesn't work with the company's own web browser. However, Mozilla claims that this move was out of their hands:
This was not our choice—Apple has chosen to make content blocking unavailable to third party browsers on iOS. We are exploring how we can provide this feature on Firefox for iOS and will deliver it as soon as it's possible.
Update: The app is now available in the iOS App Store
- Free - Download now
Source: Mozilla
