Filtr Blocks Ads in iPhone and Mac Apps Using iOS 26 URL Filters

A new privacy tool called Filtr is designed to block ads in almost every iPhone and Mac app by using a feature in iOS 26 and macOS 26 called URL filters, which lets developers block access to certain websites or domains at the network level rather than just in the browser.

“In 2026, blocking intrusive ads has become a bigger challenge, especially with restrictions introduced by Google Chrome through Manifest V3”

Clubic

TechCrunch says Filtr is created and maintained by Kaylee Serena Calderolla, the developer behind the Safari browser ad blocker Wipr, and that Filtr is “an additional paid-for feature bundled into Wipr.”

Clubic

TechCrunch reports that Filtr consults a “pre-filter” blocklist stored on the user’s device and kept up to date via automatic updates in the Wipr app, and that requests are routed through Apple’s servers as a proxy so app developers do not know who is querying their blocklists.

In the account of Filtr’s operation, Calderolla says her apps “do not collect personal data,” and the system stops requests to suspicious domains at the network level so ads and tracking code do not load inside apps.

The tool is described as a $5 annual subscription within Wipr, with TechCrunch stating that the relief was immediate as “Every app I opened loaded without its usual flood of ads.”

Starting January 1, 2026, ARCEP requires operators to filter certain unwanted calls so they appear as masked calls, and TF1 Info frames the change as a way for Android and iOS users to avoid them completely.

TF1 Info says that if you are using iOS 26, you can go to Settings, tap the Apps section, then the Phone, and enable the setting under “Filter Unknown Callers” so masked and unknown numbers are automatically redirected to your voicemail.

iGeneration

But iGeneration reports that “iOS does not allow blocking masked calls,” explaining that Apple groups masked calls and those from numbers not in your contacts, so the only option, “Filter Unknown Callers,” cannot block masked calls while keeping legitimate calls from people not in contacts.

iGeneration adds that ARCEP asks that calls be made with a hidden number in cases including when the caller is abroad with a French number that cannot be authenticated, and when a part of the chain prevents authentication due to technical constraints.

The same iGeneration piece says the only solution it describes for iPhone users is to be a customer of Free Mobile, where the operator offers an option called “Reject Anonymous Calls.”

As ad blocking evolves, Clubic points to restrictions introduced by Google Chrome through Manifest V3, saying the change reduces the capabilities of traditional ad blockers and forces developers to rethink their approaches.

“By the end of 2025, ARCEP — the telecom regulator — imposed a change on operators, which you may have noticed”

iGeneration

Clubic describes uBlock Origin Lite as redesigned to fit within Manifest V3, while noting that it remains “somewhat less powerful than the original version on browsers like Firefox, which are not subject to Manifest V3 restrictions.”

For a different approach, Clubic says Surfshark One includes an ad-blocking feature called CleanWeb that filters ads, trackers, and malicious sites across devices, and it specifies that CleanWeb is part of a paid subscription.

On the call-blocking side, Les Numériques says Google’s Phone app now natively includes filtering features on Android, instructing users to go to Settings, then the Caller ID & spam menu, and check “Filter unwanted calls.”

Les Numériques also says that after enabling Unknown numbers in the Blocked numbers menu, “a good portion of unwanted calls should now leave you alone,” and that if a legitimate call from a masked number tries to reach you, the caller will only have to leave a voicemail to be called back.