StopTheMadness Pro

Love this app. Have used the classic version previously, and use the browser extension everywhere it's compatible. Dev is very responsive, and regularly updates app By far my most used feature is probably the copy on hover. Right-clicking for copy isn't a huge inconvenience individually, but when you have to copy long lists of links or especially link titles, it's such a decrease in friction with this app. Has other fantastic features such as hotkey protection (to stop websites stealing your key binds), right-click protection, a basic element viewer for those annoying sticky elements on mobile websites, bringing images to the front of the page for interaction, etc. Most functions of the app can be replicated with userscripts, but this app provides a convenient "toolkit" that seamlessly removes so many little annoyances about the modern "thanks Google/Shopify now web standards are optional and everything is just an ugly, slow javascript animation" web

I dithered for nearly a year over spending $15 on an extension but the ubiquity of autoplay video despite toggling the useless iOS settings that are supposed to stop these intrusions and recent changes at the NYTimes which include pop-up banners pestering me, a multi-decade subscriber, to download the app even though I've stubbornly refused to do so ever since it was introduced in the late 2000s and now an autoscroll-to-top-of-page feature after I finish an article and return to the front page (WHY?), I finally caved and shelled out the cash for Stop The Madness. Indeed, it does! After a bit of fiddling with settings, no more autoplay videos, EVER (looking at you, HuffPost and local TV news sites). No more forcing me back over old territory when I just want to pick up where I left off scrolling down the front page. And no more pop-ups badgering me to download yet another walled-garden app when a single, well-designed, web browser should do the job of multiple apps. Installed together with two of the best ad-blocking extensions along with another which forces recalcitrant websites that ignore my system's dark mode, Stop The Madness provides the finishing touches needed for web browsing that feels like the early glory days of exploring The Web that old-schoolers like me remember (okay, maybe not "glory" but it certainly wasn't as bad in terms of relentless advertising, incessant video, and blatant defiance of user preferences). Thank you, brave and persevering indie developer, for vastly improving the netizen experience!

Updated: Years ago someone wrote that great software is like a gem that, consistently polished by an expert craftsman, just gets better and better. That’s the story of Stop The Madness. New features, many not even immediately obvious, continue to add extraordinary value to this tool. The developer is incredibly responsive to addressing and removing new web annoyances. A hugely customizable tool for getting your browser to work the way you want it to work. And when I have a question, Jeff Johnson is quick to help out. I suspect I use 20% of Stop The Madness’ capabilities and I’m thrilled all the same. I’m at a trust point now where anything he makes is an instant-buy for me.