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External Filters

How to import and use third-party filter lists in 1Blocker

1Blocker now allows Premium users to import filters from third-party providers as an alternative to our default filters. This gives you more flexibility and control over how content is blocked on your devices.

How to switch between Default and External filters

Each block category (Ads, Privacy, Annoyances, Adult Content) can independently use either 1Blocker's default filters or external filters. To switch between them:

  1. Open 1Blocker and navigate to the block category you'd like to configure (e.g., Ads, Privacy).

  2. Tap the (...) button in the top-right corner of the category.

  3. Select Default Filters or External Filters depending on your preference.

Note: Using both Default and External filters within the same category at the same time is not supported. Switching to External Filters will replace our filters for that category.

Once a filter is configured, 1Blocker will automatically sync your filter setup to your other devices via iCloud Sync.

Adding external filters

There are two ways to add external filters to a category:

  • Suggested Filters: 1Blocker provides a list of trusted third-party filters in the Suggested Lists section. These are the filters we have reviewed and consider reliable.

  • Custom URLs: You can also add any compatible filter by entering a direct URL to a plain text filter file under the Manage section.

Requirements

Supported filter formats

1Blocker supports the three most popular filter formats used by the ad-blocking community: AdBlock Plus, uBlock Origin, and AdGuard.

Filter size limits

To ensure reliable performance, there is a limit of 120,000 lines per block category across all external filters combined. This means:

  • You can add multiple external filters to the same category.

  • The total number of rules across all filters in that category must not exceed 120,000 lines.

  • This limit applies independently to each category (Ads, Privacy, Annoyances, Adult Content).

Premium membership

External filters are available exclusively to 1Blocker Premium subscribers. If you are on the free tier, you will need to upgrade to access this feature.

How to upgrade: Going Premium

Our Recommendation

While External Filters give you greater flexibility, we cannot guarantee the consistent performance or quality of third-party filters. For the best experience, we recommend using 1Blocker's Default Filters, which are optimized and frequently updated by our team.

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