Comparison

ShortVidsBlocker vs Swiftly Player

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

ShortVidsBlocker

This tool helps you avoid distracting short-form video content on popular social platforms. It works by blocking these videos directly within your web browser, allowing for a more focused browsing experience.

Highlights
  • Block YouTube Shorts
  • Block Instagram Reels
  • Works in Safari
  • Focus on content
  • Browser extension
Features
Read full description

Allows the user to block short form videos from YouTube and Instagram in Safari

About

Swiftly Player

Stream your Jellyfin media library without transcoding. Seamlessly resume playback across devices, download content for offline viewing, and enjoy features like skip intro and picture-in-picture.

Highlights
  • No transcoding required
  • Cross-device playback resume
  • Offline downloads
  • Picture-in-picture support
  • Multiple server support
  • Skip intro/credits
Features
Read full description

Swiftly plays the films on your Jellyfin server just as they are. Most apps have the server rebuild a film while you're watching. Swiftly leaves it alone — and tells you beforehand that it will. If something ever does have to be converted, you'll see which part of the file was responsible. Picture in Picture is built in, so a film can carry on in the corner while you get on with something else. RESUME ON THIS DEVICE Something playing on the Apple TV turns up as a button on your iPhone. One tap and it carries on here, at the second you left it. It works in every direction between iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple TV. SERVERS AND ACCOUNTS Add more than one Jellyfin, stay signed in to all of them, and switch from your profile without typing a password again. DOWNLOADS Take episodes and films with you. Swiftly downloads the original file, so what you watch offline is the same quality as what you stream. MORE • Request what your server doesn't have yet, through Seerr, without leaving the app • Skip Intro and Skip Credits, via the Jellyfin plugin • People pages: tap a name in the cast for a biography and everything of theirs you own • Your home screen in your order — rows off, rows moved, genres as rows or as chips • Custom headers per server, for Jellyfin behind Cloudflare Access, Authelia, Authentik or Pangolin • Collections and each library, straight from the Movies and Shows title • Sign in with a Quick Connect code instead of a password • Lock screen and headphone controls, plus background audio • Your audio and subtitle language, chosen once • Next episode on its own, sleep timer, playback speed • Watchlist, filters and search • English and German Swiftly brings no films of its own — it simply shows what's already on your server. And it collects nothing: no analytics, no advertising, no account with us. Your viewing position goes to your server and nowhere else. You'll need a Jellyfin server of your own, 10.8 or newer, on a secure (https) address, and an iPhone or iPad with iOS 18. Uses VLCKit and libVLC by VideoLAN under the LGPL 2.1 or later. Licenses and source code: https://swiftlyplayer.com/licenses/

Screenshots

ShortVidsBlocker1 screens
Swiftly Player4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Swiftly Player at every 6 days against ShortVidsBlocker's every 4 months. ShortVidsBlocker's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for ShortVidsBlocker against 5.0 for Swiftly Player. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 2 respectively.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ShortVidsBlocker ships an update every 4 months, Swiftly Player every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 6, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
ShortVidsBlocker versus Swiftly Player: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterShortVidsBlockerSwiftly Player
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings22
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, MaciPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB55 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperGiuseppe BertoliniPaul Herter

Customer experience

ShortVidsBlocker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Swiftly Player

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

ShortVidsBlocker

No in-app purchases

None

Swiftly Player

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is ShortVidsBlocker free?
ShortVidsBlocker is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Swiftly Player free?
Swiftly Player is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, ShortVidsBlocker or Swiftly Player?
ShortVidsBlocker and Swiftly Player are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do ShortVidsBlocker or Swiftly Player have ads?
Neither ShortVidsBlocker nor Swiftly Player shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ShortVidsBlocker or Swiftly Player?
ShortVidsBlocker ships an update every 4 months, and Swiftly Player every 6 days. Most recently, ShortVidsBlocker was updated on October 6, 2026 and Swiftly Player on October 7, 2026.

Other comparisons