Apple finally fixing its bug in iOS 17 let us revoke the workaround — you can enable a large number of filters again, without them crashing. We also updated the Scriptlets library in this release.

Workaround is no longer needed

Back in October 2023, we found and reported a bug in iOS 17 that was limiting the number of Safari content-blocking rules. The unforeseen limit contradicted Safari Content Blocking API documentation and didn’t let AdGuard make use of all 900K rules (provided by 6 AdGuard content blockers). That made AdGuard filters crash when too many were enabled, meaning users were no longer able to use a large number of filters simultaneously. At that time, we implemented a temporary workaround, but it was far from a perfect solution — even though it improved the situation, enabling a lot of filters could still lead to some rules not working properly.

Now, with Apple having fixed the bug, we’re happy to finally remove the workaround. All of that basically means one simple thing — you can enable as many filters as intended by the AdGuard app.

If you are using iOS 17, please note that for this fix to work you need to update to the latest iOS.
If you are using iOS 16 and below, this bug doesn’t affect you.

Updated Scriptlets

To make sure the app performs its best, we used this hotfix to squeeze in an update of one of the essential libraries — Scriptlets (JavaScript enhancement for filtering rules). The new v1.11.1 keeps ad blocking on YouTube and other websites stable and efficient.

Check the full changelog for v4.5.5 on GitHub. Feedback is always welcome: don’t hesitate to hit us up on GitHub or on our social media.

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