iPhone users will soon be able to dissolve annoying ads and popups with just a tap—Details here

iPhone users with the iOS 18 fifth beta installed can access the Distraction Control feature, which allows them to dissolve annoying ads.

iPhone users can use the Distraction Control feature to enjoy a more streamlined web browsing experience. (AP)

iOS 18's fifth beta was released earlier this week for supported iPhone devices, and the major highlight of this release has to be the ‘Distraction Control' feature, which everyone seems to be calling the Thanos Snap feature. This is due to the animation that plays when you decide to remove an annoying pop-up, ad, auto-play videos, or cookie prompts that end up covering important details on a web page. But don't get us wrong—it is not an ad blocker by Apple; instead, it is an attempt to make mobile web browsing more legible amid a sea of ads and pop-ups, without hurting publishers.

iOS 18 Distraction Control: How It Works

To access the feature, you need to use the same button that you use to access the reader mode in the Safari browser. It allows you to hide an annoying part of a website by tapping 'Hide' and then 'Done'. You can also view all the hidden parts in the menu under ‘Show Hidden Items'. However, remember that it is not permanent; as soon as you refresh the web page, the pop-ups or elements you may have hidden using the feature will return. Therefore, it is just an attempt at making information easier to consume on a web page. You can check how the feature works here in this MacRumors video.

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iOS 18 Could Have This Feature At Launch

As mentioned, this feature is part of the iOS 18 beta 5, meaning that stable release users don't have it yet, as iOS 18 has not been officially released. That said, now that this feature exists in iOS 18, you can expect it to be included in the final launch, which is anticipated to be sometime in September, following the iPhone 16 launch event.

Meanwhile, if you are comfortable and can install the developer beta, you can try it on your compatible iPhones to experience the new features before they are available in the stable release. You can also try the iOS 18.1 beta, which includes the much-anticipated Apple Intelligence features and call recording.