Clean Links vs Banish
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Clean Links
This utility automatically cleans and resolves shortened or proxied URLs, removing unnecessary tracking tokens. It then places the cleaned URL directly onto your clipboard, ready for sharing or emailing without needing to open a browser.
- Cleans and resolves shortened URLs
- Removes tracking tokens (e.g., UTM)
- Automatically detects URL on clipboard
- Copies cleaned URL to clipboard
- Supports X-Callback-URL Scheme
- Compatible with popular productivity apps
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Clean Links cleans & resolves URLs that have been shortened or proxied. It also removes unneeded tokens such as UTM components. Finally you can share & email links without having to load it in a browser or edit the URL yourself. Simply load the application and it will automatically detect & clean the url on your clipboard, putting the resulting URL back onto your clipboard, ready to use. Clean Links also fully supports the X-Callback-URL Scheme. Which means it's compatible with apps such as: * Things * Tweetbot * Drafts * Notesy * LaunchCenter Pro * and more!
Banish
This Safari extension blocks intrusive "Open in App" popups and other website annoyances on your iPhone and iPad. Enjoy a cleaner browsing experience without unwanted interruptions or dark patterns.
- Blocks 'Open in App' popups
- Removes website dark patterns
- One-time purchase
- Private and data-free
- Simple to enable
- Fast and efficient
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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
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Clean Links at 91% against Banish's 39%. Clean Links also leads on price (Free vs $2.99) and rating (4.7 vs 3.8). Banish's advantage is ratings volume (263 vs 16) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 6 weeks). On ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Clean Links is free to download; Banish costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Clean Links holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Banish has 263 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 91% of Clean Links's written reviews are positive against 39% of Banish's.
Clean Links ships an update every 6 weeks, Banish every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Clean Links | Banish |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $2.99 |
| Rating | 4.7 (16 ratings) — better | 3.8 (263 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 91.3% of reviews — better | 39.2% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 263 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 6 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #127 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 8.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 3 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Brett Terpstra | Big Pineapple LLC |
Customer experience
Clean Links
Banish
Bugs and requests
Clean Links
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
Banish
Reported bugs
3 issues- Breaks Twitter functionality
- Causes issues with Reddit and other sites
- Doesn't work on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn
Requested features
3 requests- More granular control/whitelisting
- Statistics/logging feature
- Improved compatibility with more websites
In-app purchases
Clean Links
No in-app purchases
Banish
No in-app purchases
