Are certain elements on a web page annoying you? A new feature in Safari lets you selectively filter things out of web pages, but it’s not an ad blocker.

The function Distraction control for Safari was discovered in the latest betas of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequioa. Distraction Control does exactly what the name suggests: it gives you the ability to filter out elements that distract you while you’re visiting a web page. The feature can be accessed from the page controls in the Safari taskbar.

When you visit a website, click on the function Hide distracting objects to filter out elements. Blue boxes indicate which website elements you can filter out. The selection is completely manual, so only the fields you select will be made invisible during your website visit.

No ad blocker

Apple makes it clear that Distraction Control is not the same as an ad blocker. Banners and ads will only be blocked if you manually specify them, whereas an ad blocker will do this automatically for you. Changes you make through Distraction Control are not permanent. If anything has changed in the layout of the site since your last visit, you will need to make the adjustments again, even in the previously blocked fields.

For example, Distraction Control can complete the mandatory cookie menu for you. If you block the cookie menu using the feature, Distraction Control will tell the website that you closed the menu without completing it.

iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia have been available since July 16. You can install the beta versions on any supported device, but keep in mind that you may end up with unstable software. It is therefore not recommended to install the beta versions on your permanent (work) device. The spearhead of the new software versions is said to be Apple Intelligence, but the function will not be rolled out until iOS 18.1 at the earliest, and perhaps not at all in the EU.