Apple released iOS 18 Beta 5 last night and it came with a handy new tool called Distraction Control. This tool is built into Safari and users can tap on website elements to make them instantly disappear. For example, cookie pop-ups, newsletter alerts and adverts can be wiped away in seconds.
The good news here is this new Distraction Control feature is available on macOS, iPadOS and iOS. In beta, of course. However, when it launches later this year all users can take advantage of it.
Using it seems simple enough. The “Hide Distracting Items” menu lets you select items on a web page you don’t want to see. You can select virtually anything, even a full body of text. If you keep tapping on the element, it will eventually leave you with an empty web page.
Apple has noted that this feature won’t permanently remove ads and other pop-ups. In the patch notes it says “Hiding distracting items will not permanently remove ads and other content that updates frequently”. Your vanishing elements are also not synced across devices.
In the video below, MacRumors showcases the Distraction Control in action. You can see that he is able to remove whatever he taps on. Ads, however, return after the page has been refreshed.
Keep in mind that this tool is still currently in testing and will only release later this year. If you do use these beta versions, you should be able to update to the latest versions now and fiddle around with it.
