YouTube intensifies ad blocker crackdown by automatically skipping videos to the end
YouTube has intensified its crackdown on ad blockers in an attempt to push users to subscribe to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience. Users with ad blockers like AdBlock have encountered issues like videos skipping to the end, getting stuck, or having no audio, which often resolve when ad blockers are disabled. The company has previously experimented with tactics like slowing down video load times for users with ad blockers, causing increased frustration among users.
The platform has also implemented a three strikes policy, initiated in late 2023, where users with ad blockers face playback restrictions after three warnings. This move follows the 2022 shutdown of YouTube Vanced, a popular third-party app, further pushing users towards YouTube Premium.
These aggressive tactics have sparked significant user frustration, with many sharing their experiences and exploring solutions, like setting VPN locations to specific countries using uBlock Origin.
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External links
- New Youtube adblock weird behaviour - video automatically skips to the endReddit Discussion
- YouTube has now begun skipping videos altogether for users with ad blockersAndroid Police
- YouTube adblocker crackdown intensifiesMashable
- YouTube is becoming unwatchable for ad block users – thanks to this powerful new crackdown tacticTechRadar
Comments
What a silly policy! The people who have went to great lengths to avoid Youtube ads are a lousy market to advertise toward. This has to be a sign that Youtube is in decline.
At this point with such anti-user freedom tactics in their ad-blocker crackdowns, I'm surprised that more and more people are not choosing to migrate their YouTube viewing experience to user-respecting front-ends like Invidious and NewPipe.
Invidious and NewPipe are just front-ends, they totally rely on YouTube/Google and they due breaks from time to time. This is not a viable option on the long run. What we need is a real alternative the problem is that it's not a viable business, hosting videos is expensive and the number of simultaneous viewers makes it harder. YouTubers won't move without financial and views incentives so I really don't think we're gonna see a real competitor any time soon.