# wBlock

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/wblock/

15 people recommended wBlock in Hacker News comments and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 13 threads. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free, open-source ad blocker for Safari that uses native APIs, syncs through iCloud and is fast; some say it misses ads that AdGuard removes.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## Why people recommend it

- Custom blocklists and rules (3 comments in the sample): "It blocks ads pretty well, supports custom blocklists and userscripts" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45957186)) "wBlock fixes that by allowing you to have custom rules." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45893513)) "could also use wblock for custom filter lists" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50077230))
- Fast and lightweight (2 comments in the sample): "It's also open source but uses native Safari content blocking APIs. It's faster and works and syncs with iPhones through iCloud." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50085633)) "Light & fast, especially to update." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49321078))
- Syncs across devices via iCloud (1 comment in the sample): "syncs up nicely and seems to perform well" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48176911))
- Blocks ads effectively (1 comment in the sample): "is more effective, anecdotally and via adblock.turtlecute.org" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49555769))

## Other ad blockers people recommend

- [uBlock Origin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ublock-origin/): 679 recommend, 55 mixed, 56 criticize
- [uBlock Origin Lite](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ublock-origin-lite/): 121 recommend, 19 mixed, 54 criticize
- [AdGuard](https://hackerapproved.com/p/adguard/): 71 recommend, 7 mixed, 7 criticize
- [Wipr 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/wipr/): 37 recommend, 4 mixed, 6 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "wBlock", https://hackerapproved.com/p/wblock/ (15 recommend, 0 mixed, 3 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.