John Gruber wrote on August 6 that the Safari extension StopTheScript can remove some anti-ad-block overlays by preventing a selected site from running JavaScript. The stopthescript ad blocker overlay approach is conditional, not a universal bypass: Gruber reported results at The Hollywood Reporter and Snopes, while the extension’s own documentation warns that shutting off scripts can break a site.
Gruber calls these blocking panels “dickovers,” his editorial term for modal panels, popovers or curtains that obscure a site’s content until the visitor performs an unwanted action. Commentator Cory Doctorow has described the term as Gruber’s coinage, rather than a formal browser-security category.
The immediate target is a site that detects an ad blocker with JavaScript and then uses that code to cover or withhold the page. Gruber said he disabled JavaScript for The Hollywood Reporter, reloaded the page and saw its anti-ad-block overlay disappear. He also said the method worked on Snopes. Those are Gruber’s reported tests, not evidence that every publisher’s gate will fold the same way.
How does StopTheScript remove an ad-block overlay?
StopTheScript is a Safari extension from Jeff Johnson that blocks JavaScript only on sites where the user grants it access. Johnson’s technical documentation says the extension can stop both JavaScript loaded from external files and JavaScript embedded directly in an HTML page. Safari content blockers can block loaded script files, Johnson wrote, but cannot block inline scripts while letting the rest of the page load.
The permission wording is counterintuitive but deliberate: allowing StopTheScript access to a website gives the extension permission to deny JavaScript on that website. The extension does nothing on sites for which it lacks access.
- On Mac Safari, open the site, click the StopTheScript toolbar icon, then choose access for one day or always for that website.
- On iPhone or iPad, open Safari’s address-bar menu, select StopTheScript and grant the same per-site access.
- Reload the page already open. The developer’s instructions say later page loads should apply the setting automatically.
Do not choose “Always Allow on Every Website” unless the intent is to disable JavaScript throughout Safari. StopTheScript’s tutorial says that configuration causes widespread breakage. Gruber saw one smaller side effect in his Hollywood Reporter test: thumbnails in its “Most Popular” sidebar did not load.
If a site stops working, users can undo the setting. On Mac, Safari’s Settings has a Websites pane where the site can be removed from StopTheScript’s access list. On mobile, the path is Settings, Safari, Extensions, StopTheScript, then change that site from Allow to Ask.
There is one more snag. StopTheScript permits HTML noscript elements by default. A publisher can use such an element to show a message when JavaScript is off, and the extension’s tutorial demonstrates that this may still obscure an article. The extension offers a per-site control to disable noscript elements, followed by another reload. That makes this a troubleshooting tool for script-dependent overlays, not a promise that the web will stop putting furniture in front of the door.
This story draws on original reporting from Daring Fireball.