Wipr 2 expands Safari ad blocking to all other apps

Wipr 2, the Safari ad blocker created by Kaylee Serena (and the one I use), got a new feature that extends its functionality system-wide: Filtr. Developed over the past ten months, it makes use of a new technology introduced in version 26 of Apple’s operating systems, the URL Filter. According to Kaylee, it allows you to “to block network requests system-wide without having access to any network traffic at all, and with more granularity than previous solutions.” She says this is the first app to make use of the URL Filter. Legacy solutions still used by other apps are almost always a “fake VPN” — one that doesn’t redirect traffic to external servers; instead, it’s used solely to filter tracker and ad domains. A URL Filter works differently, and it’s an approach sanctioned by Apple. Beyond greater efficiency, the feature is compatible with privacy protections that the old fake VPN solution would break, such as iCloud+ Private Relay and custom DNS resolvers (NextDNS, ControlD). Once…