Future Mind, maker of VPN-based ad block programs like AdBlock, Weblock and Admosphere, has been informed by Apple that the company is “no longer allowing VPN/root certificate-based ad blockers on the App Store and will not be accepting updates of existing ad blockers that use those techniques going forward,” MacRumors reports. Tomasz Koperski, CTO of Future Mind, said Apple rejected the latest update for AdBlock for iOS, writing in its rejection that the app “uses a VPN profile or root certificate to block ads or other content in a third-party app, which is not allowed on the App Store.” The app is still available on the App Store — along with many other ad blockers — but Apple “has officially changed their policy regarding VPN/root certificate based ad blockers on the App Store and is no longer accepting updates of apps, which directly block content in third party apps.”
That leaves Safari Content Blockers as the only permitted type of ad blocking app in the App Store, and Apple has offered to allow updates to AdBlock and other similar apps if they switch to the Safari Content Blocker-only model.
Future Mind is considering its options, but is worried that customers paid to be able to block ads in apps as well will balk at the service switching to Safari-only blockers. AdBlock has been on the App Store since 2014.
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