Apple has decided to remove in-app ad-blockers from the App Store

Apple may have taken a big step forward when it decided to allow ad-blocking in the iOS 9 version of Safari, but that doesn’t the company is ready to go all-out with ad-blocking. Unfortunately, the company isn’t allowing apps to install root certificates to block advertisements in apps that aren’t Safari, on the grounds that the method for doing so violates its security policies. For this reason, a number of ad-blocking apps have been removed from the App Store, though some of them are working with Apple to find a solution that would allow them to return. 

Apple decided to allow ad-blocking in mobile Safari with iOS 9, but the company has no intention of allowing apps that install root certificates to block ads in other apps—no way, no how. That means big changes for apps like Been Choice, which users could install to block ads in Safari as well as apps like Facebook, Pinterest, and Apple News. Apple pulled Been Choice and a few apps like it, because the method used for in-app ad-blocking installs root certificates that collect your website visits and deliver that information to the ad-blocker. Apple considers this a security violation. Safari ad-blocking apps can’t do that, which is why they haven’t been affected. Apple provided a statement about the move to iMore and various outlets: “Apple is deeply committed to protecting customer privacy and security. We’ve removed a few apps from the App Store that install root certificates which enable the monitoring of customer network data that can in turn be used to compromise SSL/TLS security solutions. We are working closely with these developers to quickly get their apps back on the App Store, while ensuring customer privacy and security is not at risk.”