My web browser extension StopTheMadness has been updated today.
Mac App Store: Release Notes Download
iOS App Store: Release Notes Download
As I said a few weeks ago, I try to schedule updates no more frequently than monthly. Nonetheless, sometimes I discover a new bug that deserves to be fixed quickly, and today is such a time. Before I discuss the bug, though, I'd like to mention an enhancement introduced in today's update that came along for the ride because it was already finished before I fixed the bug.
On both macOS and iOS, StopTheMadness has an option that forces external links into the current tab or into a new tab, regardless of whether the link has a target="_blank" attribute. An external link has a different URL domain than the current site, for example a link to nytimes.com in google.com search results.
Some customers told me that they wanted to open all links in new tabs or in the same tab, not just external links. And now you can!
The Default new tab behavior just lets the web site and the web browser decide whether to open a link in the same tab or a new tab.
Now back to the bug. Version 34 of StopTheMadness for Mac introduced a new option "Hide some banners", analogous to "Hide some app banners" in the iOS version. One banner it hides is the dreaded "Sign in with Google" you see everywhere nowadays.
The banner appears in an HTML iframe element from https://accounts.google.com, and StopTheMadness hid the iframe.
That worked fine on mobile sites, but the problem was that on desktop sites (including Request Desktop Website on iOS), the iframe is enclosed by an HTML div element that was not hidden by StopTheMadness. Without the iframe inside, the div is empty and thus invisible. However, the div could still be clicked! Notice the placement of the Sign in with Google banner in the screenshot. It covers up the search button and a date picker. These elements are revealed when the iframe is hidden, yet they remained inaccessible while covered by the invisible div. So I updated StopTheMadness to hide the enclosing div too, allowing you to access the controls again.
I apologize for the bug. I hope you can see now why I wanted to release a fix ASAP, given that the bug could cause invisible failure on websites.