https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/block-ads-firefox-ios#w...
> Does ad blocking affect search engine ads? > No. Ads shown on search engine results pages are not blocked.
A lot of the search results on top of Google are there to scam you, providing phone numbers for pass through services that charge $ for it, like flight cancellation:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/comments/1p6h81i/beware_fake_...
So this omission should absolutely be addressed, but they probably cannot because of the Google Search contract...
A neighbor came to ask for help today. He got locked out of his Facebook account and was getting impatient with their AI, so he Googled "facebook support number" clicked on the first link (almost certainly an ad) and called the number. The person on the other end apparently told him they needed access to his bank accounts to verify his identity and you know the rest of the story.
How is Alphabet not responsible this? They push ads for scams at the top and earn money from it. That should be 100% on them to reimburse, then go after the scammers.
Also they say they will continue to show Firefox’s sponsored links and ads. So, they’ll continue to show first party ads and google’s ads? And likely they won’t be able to keep up with meta’s anti ad blocking. That’s most ads on the internet. No thanks, I’ll stick to ublock origin lite on safari.
There's no reason to block Firefox's sponsored links because you can just turn those off if you don't want to see them.
Firefox on iOS is blocking third-party ads, not first-party ads.
Through network blocking? Or removing elements?
Standard webkit content blocking, so it will filter requests and hide elements.
I started getting tai chi walking ads on youtube a few weeks ago and then I saw a video about how it's a massive scam.
If only we could pay for Firefox so they could get rid of that Google funding…
Yeah, if everyone gave $10, that would get them at least $50.
LOL
(and I love ff)
has any browser ever made that work? Opera has to be the most popular by a mile and even they couldn't keep that business model going
Not in my knowledge. It would be hard to have the same amount of funding as they have now from Google.
especially when you pay your executives 7 figure salaries
What exactly is the problem? I understand a browser is a complex program but is the claim it is impossible to build a browser without continual dependence on advertising toxic dollars?
> a browser is a complex program
A browser in the class of Firefox or Chrome is for all intents and purposes a full OS constantly exposed to the world.
I understand open source OS development to be sustainable thanks to the the effort put into the server farms. That doesn't work for client side software, with the additional hurdle of needing to be better than the ad funded browser.
Orion (by Kagi) is still new, but seems to be trying.
People just expect browsers to be free. And there's no way that can be more than Google money.
That's because browsers should be free. They are infrastructure, just like bridges. And nobody wants a bridge troll sitting on the single bridge crossing the internet river, demanding money from everyone.
You pay for bridges with tax. Tax funded browser sounds good in theory, but I don't trust the people managing my tax money to run a tech project like Firefox. Most likely it gets handed to the lowest private sector bidder, with the stipulation that any privacy preserving — sorry, I meant criminal hiding — features be removed.
Bridges are not free
I mean, bridge tolls are absolutely a thing.
My area has roads w/o bridges that have a toll.
If only we could open source it and load it onto the phone with Sideloadly.
... if only their donation links would let you specify your donation goes to Firefox development and no other mozilla service ...