Safari is Getting a New ‘Distraction Control’ Feature on iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia

Apple Safari

Yesterday, Apple released the fifth developer beta for iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, and the standout addition is the new ‘Distraction Control’ feature for Safari (via 9to5Mac). This feature will allow users to manually remove distracting objects from a web page including images, pop-ups, and ads, though it can’t permanently remove content designed to update frequently.

Distraction Control is available from Safari’s Page Menu interface, labeled as “Hide Distracting Items.” Once enabled, users can manually select items on a web page to hide them, and a neat animation plays out every time an item is removed. You can see how it works in the video below shared by 9to5Mac’s Benjamin Mayo.

To be clear, Distraction Control can’t remove distracting items on a web page automatically. Users have to select what they want to hide on a specific page, and again, ads and other types of content that update frequently will reappear once the page is refreshed. In other words, Distraction Control can’t really replace an ad blocker, though it might be handy when you need to hide obtrusive ads manually.

For users in Europe, Distraction Control can also be used to hide GDPR or cookies request pop-ups. When users hide those, websites should function as if users closed the pop-ups without choosing an answer. It’s also possible to unhide items on a web page from the Page Menu interface in Safari where Distraction Control is available.

Overall, Distraction Control should be a useful addition to Safari, but this isn’t the only new feature available in these fifth developer betas. Other additions include a redesigned Reader Mode with a table of contents and high-level summary, and a new Highlights feature that automatically detects relevant information on a page.

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Thurrott