What's Changed

Major Features & Improvements

• Element Zapper (be500b0, 7c76c54, a9e7dd2, 8d6fcc1, 93c0bd5, 64d8959, e2b0b7a, #115, #214)
  Added a full element zapper UI with a blocked-request logger and per-site toggles. Users can now visually select and hide page elements directly in Safari. Manual per-site CSS selector rules can be entered in the in-page zapper for persistent blocking. Fixed CSP-blocked inline injection on macOS, improved iOS tap targets, and unified the popup UI across platforms.
• iCloud Sync (fc56189, 0135a01, 2d454f6, a60dd80, 09ffa09, eefb77e, 58c781c, 519f05d, #159)
  Added optional iCloud sync for filter selections, custom lists, userscripts, and whitelist across all your devices. Includes a sync toggle during onboarding and in Settings, CloudKit container entitlements, and platform-safe sync logic. The apply-changes flow was refined to support non-blocking iCloud configuration adoption.
• Inline User Lists — Paste and Import (f48b336, aa64ab0, 76956c9, 9e0bb58, 3ea970a, a0067f7, b33b3e6, 939d344, 7ab7076, aa0b6fd, f962c23, #90, #201)
  Added the ability to create custom filter lists by pasting rules directly or importing from a file, in addition to the existing URL method. The Add Filter List sheet now has URL, Paste, and File tabs with per-platform native UI. User lists support custom titles and descriptions, and deletion properly handles iCloud sync tombstones.
• Content Blocker Slot Distribution (5de6f48, 3449a35, aeaf7ca, #200, #208, #209)
  Filters are now intelligently distributed across all 5 content blocker extension slots (wBlock 1–5), maximizing the total number of rules Safari can enforce. This replaces the old category-based allocation and allows significantly more rules to be active simultaneously.
• Userscript Auto-Update (1029775, e0270d3)
  Enabled userscripts are now automatically checked for updates alongside filter lists during the apply-changes flow, with a dedicated progress step.
• Custom Filter List Management (a59ba14, 1448666, 46128c8, 79d0bef, 0735ec0)
  Custom filter lists can now be named, renamed, and assigned to any category. The Add Filter List sheet was simplified and improved on both platforms.
• Localization Support (7498e38, #218, #219)
  Added localization infrastructure and major language resources, making wBlock accessible to a much wider audience.
• Unified Onboarding (1330235)
  Merged the separate onboarding and setup checklist flows into a single 5-step onboarding experience. Removed the duplicate inline progress view in favor of the standard apply-changes sheet. Eliminated ~190 lines of redundant code.
• Toolbar Search (a7b7b26, 7abe8e5, c75e162, c071da4, e53288c)
  Added searchable filter and userscript lists with native system search UI. macOS uses an expandable toolbar search field, iOS uses the system searchable modifier with minimized behavior.
• Homebrew Cask Distribution (ed2d417, 046a438, 0e41d5a, e8cfaa5, beb1bd1)
  Added a native Homebrew cask with a full release pipeline including CI signing and notarization for macOS DMG distribution.
• iOS 26 / Liquid Glass Compatibility (bca15f1)
  Replaced iOS 26-only glass APIs with a material-based glass design system that works across all supported OS versions.

Performance & Reliability Upgrades

• Streaming IO and Conversion Cache (6521488, 854d96f, 43872f9)
  Refactored the update pipeline for dramatically lower IO. Streaming IO replaces full-file reads, and per-target conversion results are cached and reused when inputs haven't changed.
• Protobuf Userscript Migration (6c3bb62)
  Userscripts now store only metadata in protobuf, with content files managed separately. Safe migration ensures no data loss during the transition.
• Auto-Update Reliability (f8664aa, 8b9e9a6, bc053f6, 7f2189e, e3c4c2e, 1a927d3, e64b5f6, e8aa18a)
  Comprehensive hardening of the auto-update system: reliable scheduling, RunningBoard crash mitigation, iOS background fetch fallback, hardened task lifecycle and timeout cleanup, deduplicated entry points, and centralized interval normalization.
• Auto-Update Telemetry (eb0620c, 6107922, 4e42ad7, c39ac48, 32e12dd)
  Added structured telemetry and skip-reason tracking for auto-updates. Unified manual and auto-update response classification, reduced false-positive update detections, and added mock HTTP integration tests for edge cases.
• XPC Continuation Race Fix (6e2b0ab)
  Fixed a race condition in the XPC continuation handling that could cause crashes during filter updates.
• Code Cleanup (b859751, 1acaadd, 431dd98, 89b036d, 26b9989, 6742794)
  Removed unused userscript and UI dead code, deduplicated filename helpers, removed redundant wrappers and legacy state fields. Apply and auto-update logs are now concise with timing summaries.

Bug Fixes

• Dynamic Ad/Script Coverage Gap (4de4fd1, #205, #217)
  Fixed a gap in core conversion that could allow dynamic ads and ad scripts to slip through content blocking.
• Userscript Injection Race (9fe79bb, #153)
  Fixed a race condition in userscript injection on Safari that could cause scripts to not activate.
• Userscript Injection for ComicRead (682dc6d)
  Fixed userscript injection for sites like ComicRead that use specific content security policies.
• CRLF Rule Splitting (a16bc13)
  Fixed filter rule parsing to correctly handle Windows-style CRLF line endings during conversion.
• Bypass Paywalls Clean Enable Flow (5f45b9a, 2b00fd9, #215)
  Fixed the remote userscript enable flow for Bypass Paywalls Clean, and improved userscript matching and batch-enable error reporting.
• Userscript Defaults Behavior (11cc455, #202)
  Fixed an issue where deleted default userscripts would reappear unexpectedly.
• Custom Filter Persistence (d574687)
  Fixed migrated custom filter lists losing their custom status after migration.
• Site Disable in Scripts Extension (69f26f4)
  Fixed per-site disable not working correctly in the Scripts extension.
• User List Deletion (a0067f7)
  Fixed user list deletion and ensured iCloud sync tombstones are properly created.
• Privacy Target Wiring (c487934)
  Fixed Privacy target wiring and extension plist memberships.
• Filter Row Text Clipping (aacd36d)
  Fixed filter row long-press text clipping and corrected stat display order.
• Filter Refresh Validators (3fd1410)
  Fixed filter refresh to use persisted validators instead of stale in-memory state.
• Production Crash Safety (dad8fc8)
  Replaced a fatalError in the ZIP archive builder with graceful error handling, and removed unguarded print() statements from production code.
• Locale-Aware Userscript Metadata (dad8fc8)
  The userscript metadata parser now respects locale-specific @description:en and @name:en fields, fixing non-English descriptions showing for scripts like AdGuard Extra.

UI/UX Improvements

• Apply Changes Progress View (519f05d, 8dd2630, 72aa5f8, d0bb5c5, 0597de0)
  Completely redesigned the apply-changes progress sheet with phase-based progress rows, sub-progress bars, stat cards, and a detailed summary view. Shows the last completed extension name and clarifies reload progress labeling.
• Add Filter List Sheet Polish (79d0bef, 0735ec0, aa64ab0, b33b3e6, 939d344, f962c23, ad49cb1)
  Simplified and polished the Add Filter List sheet across both platforms with native iOS controls, refined layout, macOS TabView integration, and native sheet presentation controls.
• Add Userscript Sheet Polish (bcc40a6, 9326a3b, 8198548)
  Polished the Add Userscript sheet layout, controls, and helper text copy. Fixed local import labeling.
• Remove Redundant Cancel Buttons (26e7c00)
  Removed redundant Cancel buttons from sheet presentations across the app.
• Open Collective Link (20da7c3)
  Added an Open Collective funding link in Settings for community support.

Notes

I could not be more grateful for all of your feedback. The community is what keeps this project alive. If you encounter issues or have suggestions, please open an issue on GitHub.
Thank you for supporting wBlock and helping make Safari the best browsing experience possible!

Download

Download from the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/wblock/id6746388723

Note: the app is currently in review. It might not be available in your region for up to 72 hours.

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