[iOS] Why doesn't AdGuard able to filter HTTPS requests?

[Gowtham]

I would like to know, why doesn't Adguard be able to filter HTTPS requests in iOS (because it says it is not blocking Youtube ads - Adguard Pro for iOS)

Advertisers might also move to HTTPS, making it impossible to block in-url HTTPS ads in iOS.

What is the fate of iPhone users? I wounder, if it can work on Android (a product by a company that relies on advertising income) be able to block HTTPS ads, why not iOS?

 

[Gowtham]

Update

All that is required is to install a ROOT CA certificate that filters these type of requests, just as you have done in Android.

The following urls might be of help, to enable this feature in iOS.

http://security.stackexchange.com/questions/48077/is-there-any-solution-for-block-the-https-traffic-using-url-filtering/48086#48086

http://kb.mit.edu/confluence/display/istcontrib/Installing+Root+and+Personal+Certificates+on+iOS

I have not tried Adguard Pro in iOS, but I have posted this because it is stated in the description of Adguard Pro, that it is not able to block ads in Youtube in iOS.

Reference: https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/adguard-pro-adblock-privacy/id1126386264?mt=8

So, I think installing root certificates would help. Does Adguard Pro install this in iOS? If so, it must work.

 

[vasily_bagirov]

@Gowtham the situation here is a bit more complex. 'Regular' blocking (what is known as content blocking) is only allowed by Apple for Safari browser. For anything beyond that - other browsers and apps, including YouTube - we need to use an alternative method (DNS blocking). DNS blocking works very differently, a brief explanation is available, for example, here. The intrinsic drawback of this method is that it is extremely easy to block useful content along with ads. This is exactly what is happening with YouTube app: it uses same domains to download both ads and useful content, and we have to whitelist those domains. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any ads, but wouldn't be much content either.