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How iOS 18’s Web Eraser content-blocker morphed into a distraction-hiding tool

Apple has finally released its Web Eraser content blocker for Safari 18, albeit under the new name Distraction Control. Here’s how the feature changed during development and why.

Logo of Safari 18 browser with a compass, shown on a webpage with accessibility and browsing options displayed.
Apple has renamed its previously-unannounced Web Eraser content blocker to “Distraction Control”

With the fifth developer betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, Apple released a new Safari feature that helps users hide unwanted webpage content. Known as Distraction Control, it gives users a way of selecting and temporarily removing distracting page elements.

While the feature itself may be new, its arrival is not entirely unexpected. In April of 2024, AppleInsider exclusively revealed that Apple had been working on an in-house content blocker for Safari 18.

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