Best Ad-Free Browsers You Can Sideload on iOS
Apple requires iOS browsers to use WebKit, the engine behind Safari, except in a few regions such as the European Union, where other engines are allowed. This means Chrome, Firefox, and Brave on iOS are essentially Safari with a different interface. A sideloaded browser uses the same WebKit engine and the same iOS sandbox, so it cannot block more at the system level than an App Store browser. As this guide shows, the strongest ad-blocking browsers for iPhone are already free on the App Store; sideloading with Scarlet iOS is mainly useful for open-source or older builds that are not in your region’s App Store.
Why Sideload a Browser?
Outside the EU, every iOS browser must use WebKit, and a sideloaded browser runs in the same sandbox as an App Store one. Sideloading a browser can still make sense to:
- Install an open-source build that is not on the App Store, or not in your region’s App Store
- Keep an older version of a browser after an update removed a feature you used
- Test a development or beta build from a project’s own releases page
It does not give a browser deeper ad blocking or tracker blocking than iOS allows, and a modified browser can see everything you type into it, including passwords.
Best Sideloadable Browsers for iOS
Firefox Focus Enhanced
Firefox Focus is a free App Store browser from Mozilla that blocks ads and trackers by default. We know of no official “enhanced” build. Modified IPAs that claim to add more filter lists, such as EasyList, EasyPrivacy or uBlock Origin lists, cannot be checked, and a modified browser can see everything you type into it, so the App Store version from Mozilla is the safer choice.
Firefox Focus’s design philosophy of blocking everything by default and erasing your history when you close the app makes it ideal for private browsing sessions.
Brave Browser Unlocked
Brave is one of the most privacy-focused mainstream browsers and its iOS version is already strong. The App Store version already blocks ads and trackers with Brave Shields, which you can set to a more aggressive level, and Brave Ads are opt-in. We know of no official “unlocked” build, and a modified browser can see everything you type into it, so we recommend the App Store version.
Orion Browser (Full Version)
Orion by Kagi is an interesting browser because it supports many Chrome and Firefox extensions on iOS. It is free on the App Store, and the official version already lets you run uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger, Dark Reader, and hundreds of other extensions directly on your iPhone browser. For many users, uBlock Origin alone is reason enough to try it.
For power users who rely on browser extensions, Orion is worth trying, and because it is on the App Store you do not need to sideload it.
Onion Browser
For Tor browsing, Onion Browser is a free, open-source browser on the App Store that routes traffic through the Tor network. Tor makes pages load more slowly but hides your IP address from the sites you visit. Because it is on the App Store, you do not need to sideload it.
For Developers: Web Inspector
Some older lists name an “iSH browser”, but iSH is a Linux shell for iOS, not a browser. To inspect websites on an iPhone, connect it to a Mac and use Safari’s Web Inspector, which shows the page source, network requests and console for sites open in Safari.
How to Install Sideloaded Browsers via Scarlet iOS
- Open Scarlet iOS on your iPhone
- Find the browser in Scarlet’s library or a repo you added, or import an IPA you already have (library contents change over time)
- Tap Install: Scarlet downloads and signs the IPA automatically
- If iOS asks, trust the developer in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management; you normally do this only once, when you first install Scarlet
- Open the browser and configure your preferred blocking lists and DNS settings
Most sideloaded browsers can coexist with Safari and your regular App Store browser. You do not need to set them as your default browser: use them specifically for sessions where you want enhanced privacy or ad blocking.
Configuring Ad Blocking in Sideloaded Browsers
Once installed, take a few minutes to configure blocking. Which of these options exist depends on the browser; where available:
- Enable EasyList and EasyPrivacy filter lists
- Enable the Peter Lowe tracking server list
- Use encrypted DNS: iOS browsers generally cannot set their own DNS, so set it for the whole iPhone with a DNS app or profile, such as Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 app from the App Store
- Enable strict fingerprinting protection
- Enable HTTPS-only mode
- Disable WebRTC (prevents IP address leakage through browser)
These settings block most ads and trackers on the modern web. Pages load faster without ad scripts executing, and your browsing data is significantly harder for advertising networks to collect.
Performance Impact of Heavy Ad Blocking
Contrary to what some claim, aggressive ad blocking generally makes pages load faster and use less data, not slower. Ad scripts are among the heaviest resources on modern web pages: blocking them reduces both data transfer and JavaScript execution time. The Lighthouse performance score for most news sites usually improves when ad scripts are blocked.
The exception is sites that require you to disable ad blockers to access content. For these, you can whitelist specific domains in any of the browsers listed above, preserving your blocking for everywhere else.
Staying Private While Browsing
Browser choice is one layer of privacy. For complete mobile privacy, combine a sideloaded privacy browser with a trustworthy VPN and a privacy-respecting DNS resolver. This makes it harder for your ISP and for websites to build a profile of your browsing, but a VPN provider can then see your traffic instead, so choose one you trust.
To explore more privacy-enhancing apps available through sideloading, check out the best productivity apps to sideload on iPhone, or, for capturing what is on your screen, the best screen recording apps to sideload on iPhone. Get Scarlet iOS installed today and take control of your iPhone’s browsing experience.