AdGuard for Safari For Mac

Ad blockers for Safari are often not as good as those available for other browsers, largely because of the limitations developers need to work around. Finding free ones is even trickier, since Safari extensions are published via the Mac App Store, meaning additional costs developers must recoup.

AdGuard for Safari comes from the developer of the well-known AdGuard desktop ad blocker, and it is completely free and open-source. It offers great blocking capabilities, while also being unobtrusive and user-friendly.

Thanks to Apple's changes to the extension ecosystem, all browser add-ons are now fully-fledged apps that also functionality to Safari. After installing AdGuard, you'll need to head to the browser's preferences and enable the extensions you would like to be active, depending on what you want to block.

Aside from ads, the add-on can also block trackers and various annoyances that pop up on certain websites. What's more, you can create your own blocking rules for elements that aren't included in the default filters but you would prefer not to see.

We tried it out on a bunch of popular and lesser-known websites, and we came across no instance where it failed to block an ad. It seems to work as well as any top ad blocker for other major browsers.

It's worth noting that the desktop app needs to be running in the background for filter lists to be updated and settings to be changed. If you close the app, the Safari icon will show that ad blocking is not active.

However, ads will still be blocked even while the app isn't running, even though the Safari icon indicates otherwise. If you like, you can just disable the icon and forget about it altogether. Keep in mind that filter lists will not be updated while the app is not running though.

If you're looking for an ad blocker, this may be your best option at the moment. Not only does it work flawlessly, but it is also free, and open-source to boot. One downside is that having an Electron app running in the background is not ideal, but you can just run it every once in a while to update filter lists and still enjoy the benefits without any performance impact.