Meet Crystal, my latest app.
Crystal started as a little experiment to see how effective the content blocker built into iOS 9 could be. I wrote up my findings in a previous post and was overwhelmed when I saw it mentioned in sites I admire so much, such as Daring Fireball, The Loop and iMore. The topic of content blocking as a whole has since been picked up by major news sites such as The Guardian, The Wall St Journal & The Verge... Would it be big headed of me to think that this all sparked from my original post?
Anyway, after thinking long and hard, I've decided to make a content blocker for iOS 9 with the goal of making web browsing with the iPhone & iPad a great experience again, by blocking 3rd party tracking scripts that slow down websites along with giant adverts that take away valuable screen space.
So far, I do have a working prototype that works great for the majority of websites I've tested, but the app is far from finished, as it's currently in an Alpha state and I have a number of features planned that have yet to be implemented. I'll talk more about them in a later post.
I hope to release a public beta version shortly after Apple allow iOS 9 Apps to be deployed by Test Flight, however there is no date on when this will be available at the moment.
If you would like to register interest in beta testing or the general release of the app, please fill out the form below.
I will use the details you provide to send 2 emails - one to announce beta testing if you opt in, and another to announce the release of the app later in the year, before disposing of your email address.
If you would like to follow along with my progress, the best place is to follow me on twitter, @CraftyDeano, however for any major updates, I will post them here in the blog.
If you have any questions, as always, don't hesitate to get in touch.