7.1

A fix release addressing several site-breaking issues from 7.0, plus an optional way to receive replies to problem reports.

Fixes:

-Blank pages fixed. Cosmetic rules such as ad-container, ad-banner and ad-slot could accidentally match parts of unrelated class names and hide major page elements. These rules are now anchored more safely so normal layouts are left alone while real ad slots are still blocked.

-Videos and other user-opened overlays stay open. Large video players, dialogs and similar content could sometimes be mistaken for anti-adblock walls. Elements opened by a real click or keypress are now exempt, legitimate content is detected more carefully, and overlay scanning only runs when the page is actually scroll-locked.

-More ads are blocked. Filter-list cosmetic rules were previously capped in a way that excluded thousands of class-based rules. The limit has been increased and rule types are now selected more evenly, restoring much broader cosmetic blocking. Cached rules are also rebuilt immediately after upgrading.

-Less stutter on heavy pages. Overlay detection no longer scans thousands of page elements every 300ms unless the page is actually scroll-locked, greatly reducing unnecessary main-thread work.

Native Ads:
Some sites, including notebookcheck.net, may still show native ads — advertising created or embedded directly by the site itself rather than delivered through a third-party ad network.
These are harder to identify reliably and may still appear for now. Native-ad detection will be improved in future releases.

Non-native ads, such as Google-served ads and other third-party ad-network placements, are blocked.

New:

-✉ Optional email on problem reports. You can now provide an email address if you want a reply from the developer. The field is blank by default and completely optional. If provided, the address is used only to reply about that report and is not stored by the extension or added to a mailing list.

Thanks:
Thank you to everyone who reported problems and provided enough detail to reproduce them. The issues addressed in this release were reproduced, fixed and verified before release.

7.0 - a major update: redesigned popup, new blocking, a built-in reporter, an at-a-glance status icon, and fixes for sites that broke with blocking on.

New:
-Redesigned popup, split into two tabs so it's not crammed:
🛡 Protection - blocked-count, master switch, one-click per-site pause, and one "What to block" list (YouTube, paywalls, in-feed ads, SponsorBlock, cookies).
🧰 Tools - Reader mode, QR code, Zapper, saved sessions, downloader, and Report a problem. The old "Experimental" drawer is gone; beta features are just tagged Beta.

-In-feed / native ad blocking (Beta) - hides promoted/sponsored posts on Reddit, X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn that normal ad blocking can't catch. Off by default (Protection → In-feed / native ads). A few networks hide their "Sponsored" label heavily, so coverage there is best-effort.

-🚩 Report a problem - a quick in-popup form sends an anonymous report (category, description, optional page address). No account, no identity, nothing sent until you press Send.

-Red "off" icon - the toolbar shield turns red whenever the blocker is off (everywhere or just this site), so you can tell at a glance without opening the popup.

Improved:
-Empty ad boxes now collapse - when something is clearly an ad, the leftover blank gap is removed too; unsure matches are just hidden, so real page layout is never disturbed.

-YouTube ads, including the newer image "skip" ads - these are now auto-skipped for you, not just classic video ads (and it'll never skip your actual video).

-Better streaming & social coverage - added ad/tracking servers that common lists miss.

Fixes:
-Menus & overlays open correctly on web apps again — after closing an overlay, Freeloader was forcing the page's scroll/position, which stopped some apps' pop-up menus from opening. Fixed to leave the page's layout alone.

-Sites' own images no longer blocked — content served from shared cloud/CDN hosts was getting caught by over-broad list entries, hiding real product photos and icons. Fixed, with ad/tracker blocking unchanged.

Fixed:
- Major fatal UI error... oops

Freeloader 6.6

Fixes:
-Fixed crashes on React sites. Opening carts and modals on some stores (e.g. American Tire Depot, Temu) could throw a "Node.removeChild" error and break the page. Freeloader now hides ad/wall elements instead of ripping them out of the page, and never touches an overlay you just opened with a click.
-Stopped blocking legitimate images. A site's own images could get caught by the blocklists — e.g. app icons on the UGREEN NAS app store over NAS Link, and images on other sites like fixgo.com. First-party content is now never blocked; ads and trackers still are.

New & Changed:
-Fresh look. The popup has been rebuilt with a clean liquid-glass design and automatic light/dark.
-Media downloader is now optional. It's a toggle under 🧪 Experimental, off by default, and stays completely quiet (no toolbar dot) until you turn it on. Once enabled, an Open downloader button lets you browse and save detected video.
-Simpler settings. A ⚙ Settings panel now holds your full excluded-sites list (add, remove, clear all). The popup keeps the one-tap "Don't run on this site" button.

Fixes:

-Paywall buster no longer breaks web apps (article-only, no blind layout rewrites, dropped over-broad selectors)
-Ad blocker auto-exempts private/LAN/intranet hosts
-Zen/Reader mode no longer flashes and vanishes (our overlay killer was eating it).
-Cookie auto-decline skips private/excluded sites (fewer wrong clicks).

New:
-Excluded-sites settings page with type/paste-to-add, full list, per-site and clear-all removal; popup keeps a compact toggle + count.
-Element Zapper (experimental) - click to hide any element, remembered per-site.

Changed:
-New green "FL" shield" logo (enlarged) + "Freeloader" wordmark.
-SponsorBlock and Auto-decline cookies moved to 🧪 Experimental.
-Download indicator is now a quiet dot (+ tooltip), no count/notification.
-Fewer permissions - dropped "Access browser tabs" and "Access browser activity during navigation"; install prompt now shows only site access + downloads.
-Internal rename "Video Grabber" → Freeloader; removed a debug log.

Privacy:
-No behavior change: no server, analytics, or telemetry. Support contact filled in.