Source – en.somoynews.tv
YouTube’s War on Ad Blockers Escalates with New Tactics
In a bid to push more users toward its YouTube Premium subscription, Google-owned YouTube has been aggressively targeting YouTube ad blockers. Following the shutdown of the third-party YouTube Vanced app in 2022, YouTube declared its intent to curtail ad blockers on the platform. Throughout 2023, the streaming giant implemented measures to detect and block ad blockers, affecting users’ ability to play videos if an ad blocker was detected. The company introduced a three-strike system, allowing users to watch three videos before blocking playback entirely if an ad blocker was active.
New Tactics in 2024: Disrupted Video Playback and More
By January 2024, YouTube’s anti-ad blocker measures evolved further. Reports indicated that YouTube began testing features to slow down video load times for users with active YouTube ad blockers. More recently, users have noticed another disruption: videos skipping straight to the end upon playback when an ad blocker is enabled. This issue, first reported by 9to5Google, seems to resolve when the ad blocker is disabled.
On Reddit, users have described additional problems, such as videos playing without audio and videos getting stuck during loading. One Reddit user, freemanhl2, shared their experience: “There’s no sound whenever I use a YouTube ad blocker. You can adjust the volume slider for a second then it goes mute again.” Another user, Vampirehedgehog, echoed this frustration, “Oh my god this is happening to me too! It’s so annoying I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Well, at least I’m not the only one who’s having this problem.”
User Reactions and Workarounds
Despite YouTube’s stringent measures, users have been resourceful in finding ways to circumvent the platform’s restrictions. Some users on Reddit reported success with extensions like uBlock Origin, which continues to block ads effectively. Others have turned to plugins such as Ad Speedup, which accelerates the playback of ads on YouTube by up to 16 times.
Another workaround gaining popularity involves using a VPN to set the user’s location to Albania. This method takes advantage of the fact that Google’s ad platform does not yet support the Albanian language, allowing users to avoid YouTube ads entirely. Testing has confirmed that this loophole is effective on both mobile and desktop platforms.
YouTube’s commitment to its ad-supported revenue model is clear, with the company continuously developing new strategies to ensure that users either view ads or subscribe to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience. However, the persistent efforts of users to bypass these measures highlight the ongoing tension between the platform and its audience over ad consumption.
