CLARUS WEB · CONTROL CENTER

Overview

Protect. Filter. Clarify. Empower.

Microsoft Edge
A CLEARER DIGITAL LIFE.

Less noise.
More of what matters.

Clarus Web uses Clarus Shield to filter unwanted advertising, tracking and digital clutter while keeping control local. The goal is simple: let the right things through.

PROTECTFILTERCLARIFYEMPOWER
A person walking through the Clarus aperture toward a clear mountain and city horizon
SAME WORLD.
A CLEARER YOU.LET THE RIGHT THINGS THROUGH.
Elements removed0Lifetime local counter
JEV-filtered elements0Only when configured
Trusted sites0Explicit site exceptions
Active subscriptions0Updated locally

Protection profile

Apply a sensible preset, then fine-tune anything you want.

Engine status

Current browser rule usage and enabled layers.

Local protection activity

Privacy-preserving events only: domains, rule maintenance and cleanup counts. No full browsing history is stored.

Protection layers

Each layer can be toggled independently. Static network rules run inside the browser; cosmetic controls remove leftover page clutter.

Privacy & site behavior

Reduce tracking noise without adding invasive browser permissions. Configure link cleanup and understand the three per-site filtering modes available from the toolbar popup.

BASIC

Network only

Uses network rules but disables cosmetic cleanup and JEV on that site. Best first troubleshooting step when page layout or controls break.

BALANCED

Recommended

Uses your normal global protection layers and cosmetic settings. This is the default for sites without an override.

COMPLETE

Deep cleanup

Forces cosmetic cleanup, cookie/popup cleanup and a small curated set of stronger ad selectors while preserving the global network-rule policy.

Site-mode overrides

Overrides are created from the toolbar popup. Balanced removes an override and returns the site to global defaults.

Temporary bypass

Pause filtering on the current site for 10 minutes without permanently trusting it. Session bypass rules are deleted automatically.

Temporary pauses live only in browser-session storage. They are removed when the browser session ends and are never synchronized.

Protection trace

The toolbar popup can show the sources of Clarus Web rules that matched the current tab during the last five minutes. It uses the existing active-tab grant and does not request the browsing-history-style DNR feedback permission.

Reading & access tools

Optional, user-invoked tools inspired by the best parts of reader-mode and lawful access extensions: clean up visible article content, dismiss non-access clutter, and look for legal open copies without weakening Clarus Web's privacy model.

Clarus Reader

Builds a clean reading view from article text and media already visible on the current page. It does not scrape hidden article bodies or load alternate publisher payloads.

ALT + SHIFT + R

Clear reading clutter

Removes common cookie, newsletter, push, app-install, survey and promotional obstructions for the current page while preserving detected subscription/sign-in access gates.

Find legal access

If a DOI is present, opens Unpaywall's DOI resolver. Otherwise opens a Google Scholar title search so you can locate an authorized open-access or library copy.

ALT + SHIFT + O

Access-boundary safeguards

  • Reader refuses to open when a visible paywall, subscriber-only prompt, article meter or sign-in-to-read gate is detected.
  • Clutter cleanup excludes access-control dialogs and does not clear cookies or site storage.
  • Clarus Web does not spoof search crawlers, forge referrers, rotate IP addresses, disable publisher scripts to defeat access controls, fetch cached premium text, or redirect through unauthorized archives.
  • No page text is transmitted by Clarus Web. Legal-access lookup opens the selected third-party service only after you request it.

What research showed

Older paywall-focused extensions often relied on broad all-site permissions, cookie deletion, request rewriting and site-specific bypass logic. Those approaches are brittle, can break authentication, and increase extension risk. Clarus Web instead incorporates the durable user-experience ideas: one-click readability, per-page cleanup, explicit opt-in, clear controls, and routes to legitimate open-access/library copies.

Publisher support remains intact

Reading tools are designed for content you can already access. Subscription- or authentication-gated content remains gated.

Filter subscriptions

Choose maintained lists and regional filters. Baseline protection now includes hardened audio/video, mobile-ad and social-pixel coverage; optional Fanboy Social and AdGuard Mobile lists provide additional maintained coverage. Clarus Web downloads plain-text filter data, compiles only its safe supported subset into local MV3 rules, and never executes remote code.

Subscription catalog

Enable only the lists you need; more lists increase rule pressure and the chance of site breakage.

Add a custom list

HTTP(S) text subscriptions only. Advanced scriptlets, redirects, header modifications and executable syntax are ignored.

Custom rules

For advanced users. The safe compiler supports common host-anchored network rules, basic resource modifiers, exceptions and cosmetic selectors.

Network filters

Examples: ||ads.example.com^, ||tracker.example^$third-party,script, @@||cdn.example.com^$image.

Cosmetic filters

Examples: example.com##.ad, ##.sponsor:has-text("Sponsored"), site.com#@#.keep-me.

Bulk import

Paste ABP/uBO-style text. Unsupported or executable rules are counted and skipped.

Trusted sites

Filtering is bypassed for these domains and their subdomains. Use this for sites you support or pages that break under filtering.

Tip: the toolbar popup can trust or re-enable the current site in one click.

Clarus Protection Test

Run a live, local-first diagnostic based on the supplied 2026 ad-block benchmark plus the public coverage categories documented by Super Adblock Test. It tests network blocking, cosmetic cleanup, late/worker requests and browser privacy surfaces.

LIVE PROTECTION DIAGNOSTIC

Test the protection that is active right now.

Clarus opens a temporary background web tab and issues harmless, credential-free probes to known advertising/tracking endpoints. A request that is not blocked may reach that provider and expose your IP address. Temporary host permissions are removed when the run finishes.

—Protection scoreNot tested
Network—Known ad/tracker requests
Cosmetic—Visible ad placeholders
Advanced—Late + worker requests
Privacy surface—Browser API exposure

Detailed results

Blocked/hidden is protective. Reachable means the probe escaped the current browser-extension layer. Browser API exposure is informational and is not treated as an ad-network failure.

No run yet
Run the test to populate results.

What this includes

  • Display, video, overlay, social, mobile, rich-media, sticky, native and text advertising probes.
  • Analytics, affiliate, retargeting, social pixels, session replay and fingerprinting-script endpoints.
  • Late MV3 injection and worker-context request checks.
  • Error-tracking, mixed-tracker and OEM/vendor host coverage documented by Super Adblock Test.
  • Cosmetic bait and browser privacy/fingerprinting API inventory.

What it cannot prove

A browser extension cannot determine whether DNS, VPN or router filtering caused a failure, and a synthetic score cannot guarantee that first-party/native/video ads or future delivery methods are blocked. Use the independent test button for a second measurement of the whole network path.

Production-safe test architecture

Clarus Web does not use Chrome's testMatchOutcome() for this feature because that API is intended for unpacked development extensions. The production test uses real requests from a temporary normal web tab.

Adaptive JEV filtering

Optional semantic classification for ambiguous page elements. JEV evaluates two independent questions over the same bounded structural state: how likely the element is an ad, and how likely hiding it would remove legitimate content or controls. Clarus Web blocks only when ad likelihood clears your threshold and essential-content risk stays low. It fails open if the backend is unavailable.

JEV decision policy

The Boolean outputs are probabilities, not generic confidence scores. Clarus Web keeps the raw ad-likelihood and essential-content-risk judgments separate, then applies the blocking policy locally. JEV receives structural booleans and small numeric measurements only; full page URLs, browsing history, and raw DOM text are not sent.

Appearance & behavior

Keep the UI aligned with your browser and control the toolbar badge.

Theme

Subscription updates

Data & backup

Settings, custom rules and statistics are stored locally in your browser profile. Clarus Web has no telemetry pipeline.

Export settings

Download a JSON backup. The JEV shared key is excluded.

Import settings

Restore a Clarus Web JSON backup and rebuild local rules. Previous-format backups remain import-compatible.

Reset counters

Clear local activity history and lifetime cleanup counters.

Help & full guide

Everything needed to install, configure and troubleshoot Clarus Web.

1. Start with Balanced

Balanced enables ads, trackers, annoyances, security endpoints and cosmetic cleanup while leaving social widgets optional. Browse normally before adding more lists.

2. Fix a site without over-disabling

First try Basic site mode. If you only need a short break, use Pause 10 min. Use permanent Trusted Sites only when you intentionally want Clarus Web to step aside on that domain.

3. Use the right site mode

Balanced follows global settings. Basic keeps network blocking but turns off page cleanup. Complete adds stronger cosmetic cleanup for stubborn pages. The choice applies only to that hostname and its subdomains.

4. Remove a leftover element

Use Block element for a permanent site-specific cosmetic rule. Use Zap once for temporary removal that disappears after reload.

5. Add maintained lists carefully

Enable EasyList / EasyPrivacy or a specialized list only when useful. Fanboy Social strengthens social-widget blocking; AdGuard Mobile Ads strengthens mobile-specific coverage. Clarus Web asks permission for that list's host, fetches plain text, and compiles a bounded safe subset.

6. Use Reading & Access only when wanted

Enable the optional tools under Reading & Access. Reader View reformats visible article content; Clear clutter removes non-access obstructions; Find legal access uses Unpaywall for DOI-bearing research or Google Scholar for title lookup.

Keyboard shortcuts

Permanent element pickerAlt+Shift+P
Temporary zapperAlt+Shift+Z
Clarus Reader (when enabled)Alt+Shift+R
Find legal access (when enabled)Alt+Shift+O

Microsoft Edge exposes extension shortcuts under edge://extensions/shortcuts.

Supported filter syntax

||ads.example.com^Block a host@@||cdn.example.com^Network exception$third-party,scriptSafe resource modifiersexample.com##.adHide an elementexample.com#@#.adCosmetic exception##.promo:has-text("Sale")Safe procedural text match

Remote scriptlets, response rewriting, arbitrary JavaScript, redirects, CSP/header mutation and other executable/privileged syntax are intentionally ignored.

Troubleshooting

A site is broken after enabling a list

First trust the site from the popup. Then disable the most recently enabled filter subscription and reload. Keep the smallest list set that solves your needs.

An ad is still visible

Use Block element for a cosmetic rule. If it is loaded from a repeatable host, add a supported network rule under Custom Rules. Dynamic first-party ad systems may require site-specific maintenance.

JEV does nothing

JEV is optional. Configure the backend URL and shared key, grant the backend host permission, run Test JEV connection, and confirm the ad-likelihood threshold is not too high. Clarus Web also vetoes a hide when JEV finds meaningful risk of removing legitimate content or controls.

How do I see what Clarus Web matched?

Open the toolbar popup and choose Protection trace. Clarus Web asks the browser for recent rule matches on the current active tab and shows rule sources only. A full URL logger is intentionally not shipped because continuous DNR feedback is debug-oriented and carries a browsing-history-style permission warning.

Privacy model

  • No telemetry, analytics SDK, account, or cloud sync.
  • Network blocking and high-confidence tracking-parameter cleanup are browser-enforced through Manifest V3 declarativeNetRequest.
  • Custom filters and activity logs stay in local extension storage.
  • Remote filter subscriptions are treated as data; executable syntax is rejected.
  • JEV is optional and designed to receive only bounded structural features.