BlockYouX – Privacy-focused Ad-Blocking Blocklist

Another day, another tweak. BlockYouX is a privacy-focused adblocker for iOS. Here’s how you can install it on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.     

How BlockYouX works

Advertisements are annoying and interruptive, especially on a mobile device. Most adblock apps do not work system-wide and are only capable of blocking in-browser ads. That’s where BlockYouX comes in. 

BlockYouX is a special privacy-first adblocking blocklist for the iOS operating system. It is developed by veteran tweak developer Ceadd.  

At first glance, it resembles any other jailbreak ad-blocking tweak.

But beneath the surface, it keeps at bay data tracking and mining companies that collect your GPS location, browsing history, and personal information.

adblocker

This tweak successfully blocks some of the biggest trackers like Leanplum, App-Measurement, and Swrve.

Further, it also blocks advertisements system-wide, not just in web browsers like Safari or Chrome. This means in-app advertisements and popups are also blocked.

Unlike other tweaks, this tweak does not come with a dedicated preferences section. Just install it and you’re good to go! 

In our testing, it performed quite well in CanYouBlockIt’s simple test.

However, it fails the extreme test that aggressively displays advertisements of various dimensions such as interstitials, popups, etc.                

Installation and Setup

Step 1 Open Cydia, Installer, or your desired package manager. We will use Installer for the sake of this tutorial.

Step 2 Add Ceadd’s Cydia source – https://cydia.ceadd.ca/ to the Sources.

Step 3 Search for “BlockYouX” and install the package. It will also install PoomSmart’s LetMeBlock tweak as a dependency.    

BlockYouX Cydia Tweak

Step 4 Open Filza and search for “hosts” file in the root.

Step 5 Open the hosts file and make sure BlockYouX has added the tracker URLs. This blocklist is more extensive than the one Mega UHB adds to the hosts file.         

Download BlockYouX Cydia Tweak

BlockYouX respects size restrictions pertaining to the hosts file. It does not affect battery life and internet speed. Since advertisements are blocked, it actually decreases the loading time for websites.            

As good as it is, we don’t recommend installing adblockers on iOS. This might seem counter-intuitive, but adblocking tweaks can mess up your hosts file for good.

Besides, blocking advertisements deprives publishers of their rightful revenue.

But, if you are the paranoid type, go ahead and install this tweak on your Apple device.

BlockYouX is available for download on Ceadd’s Cydia repository (https://cydia.ceadd.ca/). It is compatible with iOS 10-13.     

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