Shield Randomly Stops Functioning on iOS

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Description of the issue:
When using Brave for iOS, I am using all of the default filter lists plus YouTube Anti-Shorts. Randomly I notice that Shield is not functioning and I not only see YouTube shorts, but also ads, and other elements typically blocked by Brave and the configured lists. It requires force closing the app in the iOS App Switcher and re-opening it in order to get shield to function again. This issue has been persistent across the last couple of versions of iOS 18 through to today with the latest version of iOS 26.2.1.

How can this issue be reproduced?

  1. Use Brave on iOS for a little while

  2. Eventually you will notice ads, shorts, and other elements that are supposed to be blocked are now showing

  3. Force quit Brave using iOS App Switcher and re-open

  4. Those elements are now being blocked again for the time being

Expected result:

Brave Version( check About Brave):
Version 1.86 (144)
BraveCore 1.86.144 (144.0.7559.97)
Device iPhone18,2 (iOS 26.2.1)

Mobile Device details: iPhone 17 Pro Max running iOS 26.2.1

Additional Information:

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@BogDrakonov is the issue you’re seeing here specific to youtube content?

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YouTube is just the easiest example to provide, however it seems to be a general failure of the shield. I mostly notice it using Twitter when my custom filter list stops being applied and things like “Today’s News” start to appear in the timeline again.

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The reason I ask is because Youtube (Google) is constantly changing their ad-block detection implementation and it will sometimes bypass Brave’s Shields and cause ads to appear for a while. This is typically patched and fixed in short order but the occurrence happening again is more or less inevitable.

So seeing YT ads every now and then after Google changes or updates their ad-block implementation is expected.

:backhand_index_pointing_up: Can you share a screenshot of what exactly you’re referring to here?

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I’m also experiencing the same issues as OP on YouTube, same Brave version, same default filter lists and YouTube Anti-shorts, but on iPhone17,1 (iPhone 16 Pro), been happening on iOS 26.2 and 26.3. However, the issues seem to happen within the same tab (especially if going between other webpages) - when opening a new tab and opening YouTube, things work for a short bit before things like shorts, ads, etc return.

Additionally, I have been also noticing this issue on Old Reddit as well. From a new tab, the blue “Get Reddit Mobile” pane on the top, and the “Promoted” items (in posts and the sidebar) are hidden successfully. However, after browsing around for a little while on the same tab (going back or next on the homepage, going into different posts, subreddits, etc), these things return as long as the tab is open.

Additionally, while on the same tab, Google settings (on google.com and youtube.com) seem to revert to default even when signed in and on YouTube, the shorts, ads, etc that the filter lists are supposed to block come back. When in this state, Brave Shields reports that “0 ads” have been blocked - normally on Reddit/YouTube, it’s around 2-4.

Going to a new tab and re-visiting YouTube and/or Reddit temporarily fixes the problem before the blocked content re-appears, though it’s not consistent on when the blocked content re-appears.

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  • Does forcing update of filter lists help?
  • If not does disabling any of the lists make a difference?
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I tried a force update of filter lists in the past, and then just recently today after seeing this. No difference on YouTube or Reddit, as the blocked contents eventually return in the active tab after browsing around for a while.

Disabling all of the filter lists still results in the “Promoted” items appearing on Old Reddit after browsing around for a while, as well as “Sponsored” adverts re-appearing on YouTube, with Brave Shields still reporting “0 ads blocked” on both sites in this state.

(The Shorts and “Get Reddit Mobile” do also re-appear full-time as well, but that is because associated filtering related to them also got turned off during this test)

Even tried a Shred Site Data and even clearing cookies and cache on reddit.com and youtube.com, and then trying your suggestions again, but still end up back on square one after browsing for a while, with all filter lists OFF and updated.

EDIT, These are the shields I disabled for Test II:

  • EasyList Cookie,
  • Fanboy’s Annoyances + uBO Annoyances,
  • Fanboy’s Anti-Newsletter,
  • Fanboy’s Mobile Notifications,
  • YouTube Mobile Recommendations,
  • YouTube Anti-Shorts,
  • Bypass Paywalls Clean Filters,
  • AdGuard URL Tracking Protection Filters, and
  • Anti-AI Search Filters.
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None of these steps helped for me either. I tried these in the past and recently. The only thing that seems to work is force quitting Brave via the App Switcher and then re-opening it. At some point it just fails to keep filtering

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Oddly this has gotten worse today with no changes to my settings. I even went so far as to completely delete Brave and reinstall it on my phone. YouTube, and Twitter both randomly stop getting filtered (the two sites where this is most visible as an issue)

Refreshing the tab does not work either. It absolutely requires restarting the app to get filtering to return.