CarterBlock guide: block ads in apps, games and Safari

Q: Does CarterBlock block ads in Safari?

Yes. Block in Safari applies the same rules to Safari and to the Safari sheets apps open. You can turn it off without affecting apps.

CarterBlock stops ad and tracker requests inside your apps, games, in-app browsers and Safari. It runs inside each app, so you can keep it out of specific apps and see exactly what it blocked.

Before you start

A Dopamine rootless jailbreak on iOS 15 or later, with ElleKit and PreferenceLoader. Not jailbroken yet? Use the jailbreak finder.
CarterBlock is free.
It covers App Store apps, jailbreak apps, games, the web pages inside them, Safari, and the Safari sheets apps open for sign-ins. Apple's other apps, widgets and other app extensions are left alone.
It is not system DNS. Apps that use their own encrypted DNS or hard-coded IP addresses can still get through, and so can ad hosts listed inside a video playlist.
Online games with anti-cheat can treat any hooking as tampering. Exclude them before you play (see below).

Set it up

Add the CarterWare source https://tweaks.carterware.net/ in Sileo or Zebra (how to add a source) and install CarterBlock.
Open Settings → CarterBlock. Enabled, Game Ad Patterns, Analytics & Trackers and Block in Safari are already on.
Optional: tap Download Hosts List for a much bigger list of ad domains. When it finishes you see Hosts Updated with the number of domains saved.
Close any app that was already open (swipe it away in the app switcher). CarterBlock starts working in an app the next time it launches.
Tap Reset Stats, use an ad-heavy app or game for a minute, then come back. If Blocked has gone up and Last Blocked shows an ad domain, it's working.

After that, setting changes reach open apps within a few seconds.

Common tasks

Keep CarterBlock out of an online game

Open Settings → CarterBlock → Choose Apps.
Search for the game and turn its switch on.
Blocking stops in that game right away. Close and reopen the game so CarterBlock is fully removed from it.

Fix an app or site that stopped working

Repeat the action that failed, then read Last Blocked in Settings → CarterBlock.
If the app needs that domain, tap Edit Allowlist → Add Domain and enter it (for example example.com).
Try again. If the app still misbehaves, exclude it with Choose Apps instead.

Block a domain yourself

Open Settings → CarterBlock → Edit Custom Domains → Add Domain.
Type the host. ads.example.com blocks only that host; .example.com also blocks every subdomain.

Use a different hosts list

Replace the address in Hosts URL with any hosts file or plain domain list.
Tap Download Hosts List.

The list doesn't refresh on its own; tap Download Hosts List again whenever you want the latest version.

Settings explained

Every row on Settings → CarterBlock:

Blocking

Blocks ad and tracker requests inside third-party apps and games: app networking (NSURLSession, including background downloads), DNS lookups made by other network stacks, video ads played with AVPlayer, and in-app web views. Not system DNS; other Apple apps are left alone. Changes apply to open apps automatically; relaunch an app if an ad was already loaded.

Enabled: Switch · on by default
Master switch. Turn it off to stop all blocking in apps and Safari without uninstalling; your lists and allowlist are kept.
Game Ad Patterns: Switch · on by default
Blocks the built-in list of ad networks used by apps and games (Google ads, AppLovin, Unity Ads, ironSource and similar) plus hosts named like ad servers. Turn it off to test whether an ad rule is breaking something.
Analytics & Trackers: Switch · on by default
Blocks built-in analytics and tracking services (Google Analytics, AppsFlyer, Adjust, Mixpanel and similar) plus hosts named metrics, analytics, telemetry, beacon or pixel.

Safari

Applies the same rules to pages in Safari and to Safari views that apps open (in-app browser, sign-in sheets). A blocked page shows Safari's "blocked by a content blocker" error. Changes reach open Safari tabs within a few seconds; if Safari was opened while this was off, close it from the app switcher once.

Block in Safari: Switch · on by default
Applies the same rules to Safari and to Safari sheets that apps open. Turn it off to keep blocking in apps only.

Status

Apps write counters every few seconds. Web View Blocks are the subset WebKit blocked inside web views and Safari; a web view the app never gave a navigation delegate can't report them. Rules = active built-ins + custom domains + hosts list (respects Enabled and the toggles above).

Blocked: Status
Game Ads: Status
Trackers: Status
Hosts Hits: Status
Custom Hits: Status
Web View Blocks: Status
Last Blocked: Status
Last Block: Status
Allow Passes: Status
Rules: Status
Hosts List: Status
Updated: Status
Reset Stats: Button
Sets the Status counters back to zero so you can run a clean test. Your rules and the downloaded hosts list are not touched.

Excluded Apps

Apps CarterBlock stays completely out of. Use it for online games with anti-cheat (blocking hooks can look like tampering) or an app that breaks with blocking on.

Choose Apps: Opens a screen
Opens the list of apps CarterBlock leaves alone completely. See Excluded Apps below.

Allowlist

Never block these domains or their subdomains — even if a hosts list, built-in, or custom rule includes them.

Edit Allowlist: Opens a screen
Opens the domains that are never blocked, even if a list would block them. See Allowlist below.

Custom Domains

Your own block rules. Exact host by default; start with a period (.tracker.net) to include every subdomain.

Edit Custom Domains: Opens a screen
Opens your own blocked domains, added on top of the built-in lists. See Custom Domains below.

Hosts List

Optional AdAway-style hosts or plain domain list. Each entry also blocks its subdomains. Apple, Facebook/fbcdn, Crashlytics, and TikTok app CDNs stay protected if a list overblocks them.

Hosts-Style Blocklist: Switch · on by default
Uses the downloaded hosts list on top of the built-in rules. It does nothing until you tap Download Hosts List.
Hosts URL: Text field
The address Download Hosts List fetches. Leave the AdAway default, or paste any hosts file or plain domain list.
Download Hosts List: Button
Downloads the list from Hosts URL and applies it to open apps. If the download fails, your previous list is kept and the alert explains why.

Not system DNS. Still gets through: apps that use their own encrypted DNS or hard-coded IP addresses, and hosts listed inside a video playlist. Data: /var/jb/var/mobile/Library/CarterBlock · CLI: cb-update-hosts

Respring: Button
Restarts the Home Screen after a confirmation. CarterBlock doesn't need it for setting changes.

Support

Opens a short form in Safari with your tweak version, iOS and iPhone model already filled in. Every report reaches the developer.

Report a Bug: Button
Opens a short bug form in Safari with your CarterBlock version, iOS version and iPhone model already filled in.

Status

These rows show what CarterBlock has done across all your apps. They refresh each time you open the page.

Blocked: total blocked requests. Game Ads, Trackers, Hosts Hits and Custom Hits split it by which rule matched.
Web View Blocks: the part blocked inside web pages and Safari. Some in-app web views block without being able to report it.
Last Blocked: the latest blocked domain and its rule type. Last Block says how long ago.
Allow Passes: how often the Allowlist let a domain through, and the last one.
Rules: active rules. Hosts List: the downloaded list's size, Not downloaded or Off. Updated: when you downloaded it.

Excluded Apps

Choose Apps lists your App Store and jailbreak apps with a search bar. Turn on an app's switch and CarterBlock installs nothing into it.

Allowlist

Edit Allowlist holds domains that are never blocked by any rule, including your custom ones. Each entry covers its subdomains. Tap Add Domain to add one; swipe left to delete.

Custom Domains

Edit Custom Domains holds your own block rules. A plain host is matched exactly (with or without www.); a leading . or *. includes every subdomain. Custom rules can block domains CarterBlock normally protects (Apple, Facebook, Crashlytics and TikTok servers), but the Allowlist still wins. Paste / Edit List opens the list as text, one domain per line (hosts-file lines are fine); Save replaces the whole list.

Troubleshooting

Blocked stays at 0

Check Enabled is on and the app isn't switched on in Choose Apps, then reopen the app. Apple's own apps (other than Safari) are never covered.

An ad still shows

Relaunch the app; an ad that loaded earlier can stay on screen. Ads delivered through an app's own DNS, hard-coded addresses or video playlists get through.

A page in Safari says it was blocked by a content blocker

That page's domain matched a rule. Add it with Edit Allowlist, or turn off Block in Safari.

Safari isn't blocking anything

If Safari was opened while Block in Safari was off, close Safari from the app switcher once after turning it back on.

Download Hosts List fails

The alert gives the reason, and your old list is kept. Invalid Hosts URL means the address needs http:// or https://. Web pages and files that don't look like a domain list are rejected. Updater Missing means you should reinstall CarterBlock.

A game won't connect or closes after launch

Exclude it in Choose Apps, then reopen it. If none of this helps, tap Report a Bug or use the bug form.

Questions

Is CarterBlock free?

Yes. It's free on the CarterWare source, no account needed.

Does CarterBlock block ads in Safari?

Yes. Block in Safari applies the same rules to Safari and to the Safari sheets apps open. You can turn it off without affecting apps.

Should I use the Allowlist or Excluded Apps?

Use the Allowlist when one domain needs to load and you still want blocking everywhere else. Use Excluded Apps (Choose Apps) to keep CarterBlock completely out of an app, such as an online game with anti-cheat.