# Banish - Block 'Open in App' — Hide annoying popups in Safari

> Safari extension to block 'Open in App' popups and website dark patterns. (iPhone/iPad app by Big Pineapple LLC.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/banish-block-open-in-app/id1632848430 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Big Pineapple LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1632848432)
- Category: Utilities, Productivity
- Price: $2.99 (on sale, was $3.99)
- Rating: 3.80/5 from 260 App Store ratings · 209 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 3 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2022-07-08
- Data updated: 2026-08-30
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/banish-block-open-in-app/id1632848430/reviews.md

## What is Banish?

BANISH. The #1 Safari Extension to block annoying 'Open in App' popups & other dark patterns on the web.

“Banish does one thing and does it well: it nukes dickpanels in Safari on iPhone and iPad”
— John Gruber, Daring Fireball

"The app proved incredibly useful. For instance, when on Quora, clicking a link to another Quora page would normally pop up a blocker that requires you to log in to continue navigating the website. With Banish, this pop-up was gone and you could use the site normally"
— Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

PRIVATE
Banish does not collect or store any of your data - nothing leaves your device.

BUY ONCE
Just a one-time purchase and Banish is yours. No subscriptions, no in-app purchases, no ads, no nonsense.

FAST
The app performs the minimal, necessary changes to block popups and free up screen space.

SIMPLE
It's as easy as downloading the app and enabling it in Safari settings. No maintenance needed.

MODERN
Banish is written in Apple's latest programming paradigm Swift UI and Safari Extension functionality.

---
NOTE: Even with Banish, Smart Banners can still appear at the top for apps you have installed. They can't be removed because they're built into Safari.

Need Help? Contact us at BanishForSafari@gmail.com

## Key features

- Blocks 'Open in App' popups
- Removes website dark patterns
- One-time purchase
- Private and data-free
- Simple to enable
- Fast and efficient

## What do users think of Banish?

Overall sentiment: mixed

**Pros**

- 👍 Works great
- 🚀 Blocks annoying popups
- 💡 Useful for blocking 'open in app' prompts
- 👍 Simple and effective

**Cons**

- 🐛 Doesn't work on certain websites
- 🐛 Breaks functionality on some sites
- 🐛 Inconsistent performance
- 🐛 Doesn't block all 'open in app' banners

**Commonly reported bugs**

- Breaks Twitter functionality
- Causes issues with Reddit and other sites
- Doesn't work on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn

**Most requested features**

- More granular control/whitelisting
- Statistics/logging feature
- Improved compatibility with more websites

## Recent user reviews (10 of 209)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/banish-block-open-in-app/id1632848430/reviews.md

### 2/5 — Buggy

*2026-08-16, version 1.48*

it does what it does, I guess, but catches things it shouldn’t like DuckDuckGo’s search box (!) go figure

I don’t think it’s good enough

### 4/5 — Good but not perfect

*2026-08-14, version 1.48*

I realized that Facebook was using a lot of battery in the background so I switched to the web version. On the web, "open in app" was constantly visible and took a good amount of screen real estate. This fixes that, and I'm now using it for Instagram as well. Unfortunately it breaks the Messages page on Instagram.

### 1/5 — Barely works

*2026-07-26, version 1.48*

This hardly works anymore. Developer seems to have abandoned it. It would require frequent updates to be viable and that just isn’t happening. Useless app now.

### 2/5 — Not perfect

*2026-06-17*

Blocks entire BBC website at the time of writing. Not ideal, having to turn it off.

### 1/5 — doesn’t work

*2026-06-03, version 1.48*

doesn’t work in 2026

### 5/5 — Great

*2026-05-23, version 1.48*

This Banish app makes browsing great, like it’s 2002 again!

### 2/5 — Breaks too many websites

*2026-05-18, version 1.48*

More trouble than it is worth

### 5/5 — D

*2026-05-09*

Y

### 5/5 — So good I forgot what it does!

*2026-05-02, version 1.48*

I’ve had this installed so long I forgot what it was. I looked it up and literally had forgotten that “open in the app” popup banners were a thing. Clearly Banish is doing exactly what it promises. Well done.

### 1/5 — Stopped working

*2026-03-18, version 1.48*

This app is clearly not being updated anymore, and it started blocking so many erroneous things it shouldn’t. More trouble than it’s worth now

## Frequently asked questions about Banish

### What does Banish do?

Banish is a Safari extension designed to block intrusive 'Open in App' popups and other 'dark patterns' that disrupt your web browsing experience on iPhone and iPad. It aims to provide a cleaner, more streamlined way to navigate websites.

### How do I use Banish?

Using Banish is simple. After downloading the app, you just need to enable it within your Safari settings. No ongoing maintenance or complex configurations are required.

### Is Banish free?

No, Banish is a paid application. It offers a one-time purchase model, meaning you buy it once and own it forever. There are no subscriptions, in-app purchases, or advertisements.

### What devices is Banish compatible with?

Banish is compatible with Apple devices running Safari, specifically iPhones and iPads. It utilizes modern Swift UI and Safari Extension functionality.

### Can Banish block all popups?

Banish effectively blocks many intrusive popups, including 'Open in App' prompts and other dark patterns. However, it's important to note that Smart Banners for already installed apps, which are built into Safari, cannot be removed by this extension.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 1.48 — 2025-07-01

Thanks for using Banish. This release blocks more popups and annoying banners.

We're always working to make Safari better. If you're enjoying Banish, please consider leaving a review or rating!

### 1.47 — 2025-01-04

Thanks for using Banish. This release blocks more popups and annoying banners.

We're always working to make Safari better. If you're enjoying Banish, please consider leaving a review or rating!

### 1.46 — 2024-12-30

Thanks for using Banish. This release blocks more popups and annoying banners.

We're always working to make Safari better. If you're enjoying Banish, please consider leaving a review or rating!

### 1.45 — 2024-08-11

Thanks for using Banish. This release blocks more popups and annoying banners.

We're always working to make Safari better. If you're enjoying Banish, please consider leaving a review or rating!

### 1.44 — 2024-03-08

Thanks for using Banish. This release blocks more popups and annoying banners.

We're always working to make Safari better. If you're enjoying Banish, please consider leaving a review or rating!

## Apps similar to Banish

| App | Rating | Price | Category |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [AdBlock Pro for Safari](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/adblock-pro-for-safari/id1018301773) | 4.5 (72,488) | Free | Utilities |
| [Adblock for Safari browser pro](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/adblock-for-safari-browser-pro/id6446063518) | 4.5 (486) | Free | Utilities |
| [VPN & Ad Blocker for Safari](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/vpn-and-ad-blocker-for-safari/id1584644148) | 4.3 (193) | Free | Utilities |
| [Brave Browser & Search Engine](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/brave-browser-and-search-engine/id1052879175) | 4.8 (639,376) | Free | Utilities |
| [Website Blocker: Adult Shield](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/website-blocker-adult-shield/id1321515423) | 4.0 (191) | Free | Utilities |
| [DuckDuckGo, optional Duck.ai](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/duckduckgo-optional-duckai/id663592361) | 4.8 (2,382,152) | Free | Utilities |

## More apps by Big Pineapple LLC

- [Opener - Open Websites in App](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/opener-open-websites-in-app/id1644963470)
- [AI Caption Writer - Jester AI](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-caption-writer-jester-ai/id1661372840)
- [Albus: AI Photo Album Manager](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/albus-ai-photo-album-manager/id6645273860)

All apps by Big Pineapple LLC: https://appshunter.io/developer/1632848432

## Related topics

[banish](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/banish)

---

*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-30.*
