Using Adguard to block ads in Internet aware apps on the Mac

Even though apps like DevonAgent and DevonThink use the Safari engine for browsing, they don't use the plugins which may be installed. This means viewing search results will be riddled with ads, which is both distracting and potentially dangerous.

But, there is a way to block ads for applications, not just the major browsers.

Adguard (the full app vs browser plugin) claims to block ads at the macOS level. This means other Internet aware apps can get ad blocking protection. All you have to do is add the name of the application to the Applications list under the Network tab.

I took up the challenge, added DevonAgent, DevonThink, Downle, and Download Shuttle to the mix just to see what would happen. I then did some "deep dive" searches with DevonAgent followed by some video and music searches with Downle.

True to their claim, ads were indeed blocked. Previous banners and ads were no longer visible. Further, the blocked ad count was going up at an alarming rate.

In less than 3 hours of casual use, the counter showed 19,601 ads blocked. Yes, DevonAgent did visit and parse a few thousand links, but my goodness, that is a huge amount of ads coming in.

Before the night was over, I purchased the Lifetime license for Adguard. I do deep dive searches on a regular basis and going through the results has always been a bit tricky. That problem has now been resolved.

Adguard, available at 40% off all licenses.