AdBlock Plus releases browser for iOS and Android

AdBlock Plus has released its own browser with integrated ad blocker for Android and iOS. The browser would offer faster page loading times and provide more security, claim the makers.

The Adblock Browser for Android appeared in the Play Store on Tuesday and the program can now also be found in Apple’s App Store. A test version of the Android browser appeared in March, which 300,000 users would have tried, claims AdBlock Plus. AdBlock Plus is the open source project that uses the AdBlock service of the German company Eyeo.

AdBlock Plus was previously in the Play Store, but disappeared from it in 2013, after Google removed all apps from its store that “unauthorized frustrate others’ services or products.” Apps such as Adaway and Adfree Android also disappeared from the Play Store.

As for iOS, AdBlock Plus reports that it is ahead of Apple in blocking ads in browsers. In the upcoming iOS 9, Apple will give its Safari browser support for blocking ads. Third parties can then create extensions with ‘content blockers’ for the browser. AdBlock Plus claims its browser scrolls smoother than Safari for iOS and also offers more intuitive tab functionality. The browser is based on Kitt, which supports Chrome extensions.

The Android variant is based on Firefox for Android and thus uses Gecko. The browser doesn’t support add-ons yet, but plans to do so in a future release. The AdBlock mobile browser offers the option to whitelist favorite sites, blocking all ads instead of just setting the annoying and additional filters. Importing history and bookmarks is also possible.