Before I (pre)announce the big news, a brief macOS update: I've done preliminary tests of my Mac App Store apps — StopTheMadness, Link Unshortener, Tweaks for Twitter, Underpass — on the developer beta of macOS 12 Monterey, and they all seem to work fine. My free app Stop The Mac App Store also works on Monterey. I'm not expecting compatibility issues with my Mac software. I'll continue to test on Monterey during beta period. If you experience any issues with one of my apps, please contact support.
In the three years since I released my Safari extension StopTheMadness for macOS, I've received many requests to bring StopTheMadness to iOS. I've had to say that unfortunately, Safari for iOS does not support extensions. But now I'm here to say… it's happening! Yesterday at WWDC, Apple announced that they're bringing Safari extensions to iOS. It's fair to say that I was "surprised and delighted". More like shocked and thrilled. I certainly wasn't expecting it, but I'm definitely ready to dive in.
If you're interested in StopTheMadness for iOS, please send me your feature requests! The best way is to email StopTheMadness support (which is simply me, as a sole proprietor). Due to the inherent differences between Safari for Mac and Safari for iOS — mouse vs. touch, for example — as well some differences in Safari extension API, StopTheMadness for iOS will not be identical with StopTheMadness for macOS. There won't be 100% overlap in features. Some features of StopTheMadness for macOS might not exist on iOS, and likewise, some features of StopTheMadness for iOS might not exist on macOS. My goal is to make the best products for each platform rather than to make the products uniform between platforms. Tell me what kind of "madness" you see when browsing the web on iOS, and I'll do my best to stop the madness! Even if you think it's obvious, it may not be obvious to me. After all, I've been primarily a Mac developer, so I tend to spend more time web browsing on macOS than on iOS.
I'm also thinking about bringing my extension Tweaks for Twitter to iOS if there's sufficient interest, so if you use twitter.com in Safari for iOS and would be interested in an iOS version of Tweaks, please let me know. Again, the best way is to email Tweaks support. The more people I hear from, the more likely it is that I make Tweaks on iOS. And please spread the word about Tweaks on macOS, because it hasn't received any press coverage. Not many people are aware yet of its existence.
Safari extensions for iOS (and iPadOS) require iOS 15 (and iPadOS 15), so StopTheMadness for iOS (and iPadOS) will have the same requirements. Apple says that these OS updates will be available in the Fall. I hope to have StopTheMadness for iOS available on "day 1", which in previous years has been mid-September. StopTheMadness for iOS will likely be an upfront paid app, as other business models don't work well for an extension like mine. It will also likely be a separate purchase from StopTheMadness for macOS. Many people have told me that StopTheMadness is actually underpriced, and they're probably right, but that's life in the App Store. Anyway, I wanted to set expectations ahead of time.
These are exciting times! I can't remember ever being as excited about a WWDC. I'm looking forward to building StopTheMadness for iOS, and I can't wait to get it into your hands. I also have some interesting future updates planned for StopTheMadness on macOS, by the way. I already had some ideas about this before WWDC. It'll be a busy summer for me without a doubt. Don't hesitate though to send me your requests and feedback!