Credit: Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
- iOS 18 beta 5 introduces Distraction Control, a feature that lets Safari users hide static web elements, like newsletter banners.
- As long as the selected web element is static, it’ll remain hidden indefinitely.
- Due to ads’ dynamic nature, they’ll automatically reappear whenever the web page reloads.
iOS 18 beta 5 is now available to enrolled developers, featuring a new Distraction Control option in Safari. Through this fresh addition, users can hide static web elements, such as cookie popups, newsletter banners, and more. While you can technically use Distraction Control on iOS to block web ads, there’s a major limitation barring it from becoming a practical solution.
When hitting the new Hide Distracting Items button in Safari, an alert reads: “Hiding distracting items will not permanently remove ads and other content that update frequently.” This highlights that the feature isn’t designed to block ads on websites. Instead, it’s meant for static banners that don’t continuously refresh.