Solved Diversion + Skynet not blocking ads on iOS 16.1.2 & 16.2 Safari

[ubik]

Not sure if I'm at the right place to ask, but I'm blocking ads via Diversion & Skynet successfully on all my devices since some time.
Recently I have this strange issue that my iPhone 13 mini on iOS 16.1.2 and my iPhone X on 16.2 do not block ads (googletagservices.com is one I was able to pinpoint with the website https://betaprofiles.dev/).

On my iPhone 8 with iOS 16.1 the ads are blocked on said website. The ads are also blocked on both the 13 mini and the X in Chrome. Only Safari seems to be the issue.

I tried disabling various settings in iOS (Private relay and Wi-Fi assist) but nothing seems to change.

Does anyone have an idea why this would happen or what I can do to fix the issue?

Thanks a lot!

 

[Adooni]

did you try to change DNS server on Safari? Set the same you have at iPhone8.
it is common issue with Smart TVs as they have built in DNS you cannot change and ads popup.

I am even avoiding google chrome even and use SRWare Iron for web browser

 

[ubik]

did you try to change DNS server on Safari? Set the same you have at iPhone8.
it is common issue with Smart TVs as they have built in DNS you cannot change and ads popup.

I am even avoiding google chrome even and use SRWare Iron for web browser

All DNS settings are the same, Automatic/router IP. And it's only Safari on iOS 16.1.2 and 16.2, my 16.1 device blocks ads on Safari. But all of them block the ads when using Chrome. :/

 

[JimbobJay]

I was seeing issues with safari and apple apps hanging a lot last week. Turned out that it was due to me having Type 65 blocking enabled on diversion and seemingly because of a broken way apple is handling type 65 queries not being responded to.

Switching it off stopped the hangs, but immediately ads started coming through on safari. Apple is aggressively pushing type 65 dns queries

Sadly, diversion, being dnsmasq based, doesn’t currently have an alternative way of handling these queries. pihole and adguard home are alternatives that can handle these queries. So your option is to switch on type 65 blocking on diversion and risk it breaking some websites causing them to hang, or move to an alternative such as pihole or adguard home.

 

[JimbobJay]

It could also potentially be Hide IP Address being switched on for trackers and websites in Safari settings within the apple device settings screen. Try that as well. But my suspicion is that it’s not having type 65 blocking switched on in diversion. Switching it on will get rid of the ads but at the risk of breaking some website.

I ended up switching to adguard home

 

[ubik]

Thanks so much @JimbobJay ! It seems like for me it was the "Hide my IP address from trackers" option. I have enabled Type 65 blocking this morning but turned it off after you mentioned those two options. I just switched the Hide IP address option off and checked it again, so far no ads. So far so good. Thanks a lot, much appreciated. Hope it stays like that, since I really like the setup and I'd rather not switch again

 

[Yota]

Block ads on the client side where possible.

AdGuard works just fine on Safari.

‎AdGuard — adblock&privacy

‎AdGuard is an ultra-efficient ad blocker for Safari. It will not only remove annoying ads but also secure your privacy with advanced tracking protection. AdGuard for iOS is an open source app, it’s totally transparent and safe to use. The app is free but offers additional paid Premium features...

apps.apple.com

 

[iTyPsIDg]

Fascinating. For me, the ads were blocked in Safari but not in Chrome or Firefox. I was under the impression that Private Relay didn't do anything for third-party apps. Diversion successfully blocked ads even using third-party apps when I turned off Private Relay.

By the way, make sure you add your cert profile to your iOS devices if you are using Pixelserv.

 

[ubik]

Fascinating. For me, the ads were blocked in Safari but not in Chrome or Firefox. I was under the impression that Private Relay didn't do anything for third-party apps. Diversion successfully blocked ads even using third-party apps when I turned off Private Relay.

By the way, make sure you add your cert profile to your iOS devices if you are using Pixelserv.

Huh, that's really odd. Well for me it seems like disabling the Private Relay/Hide my IP from trackers fixed the issue on Safari (other browsers still work).

May I ask for what I need the certificate? I haven't been really able to understand, why I would need it. Ads are blocked and I have no issues so far (anymore).

 

[iTyPsIDg]

Huh, that's really odd. Well for me it seems like disabling the Private Relay/Hide my IP from trackers fixed the issue on Safari (other browsers still work).

May I ask for what I need the certificate? I haven't been really able to understand, why I would need it. Ads are blocked and I have no issues so far (anymore).

I found the original post and my follow-up post.

TL;DR: It fixes dropped HTTPS requests.