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YouTube is cracking down on adblock.


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  • CastletonSnob changed the title to YouTube is cracking down on adblock.

Yes, I learned about this in the most internet kind of way. I have a seasonal “wake up” music link saved so that when I get my family up they wake to music and slowly rising light levels. This morning YouTube informed me of my sinful behavior so I unblocked the site so I could start my relaxing wake up music. Instead I got a forced nearly minute long video of a sandyhook parent talking about gun control while ghost images of their murdered child flittered by… thanks you tube, definitely a relaxing start to the day! 

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1 hour ago, Bacon said:

Firefox and UBO

never seen this popup on desktop or mobile

 

I have Firefox and UBO and have been seeing it.

 

1 hour ago, Keyser_Soze said:

I've seen the pop up but it doesn't force you to watch ads. It goes away after a couple of seconds and you can watch the video.

 

1 hour ago, Greatoneshere said:

Yep, same for me.

 

I assume that's a "for now" since this is new and will eventually escalate to at least actually blocking you from watching.

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Maybe a hot take, but I'm actually sympathetic to the fact that there are real costs associated with running a hugely popular website like YouTube and I'm happy to pay for it, the same as just about any luxury service that adds value to my life. 

 

:shrug:

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10 minutes ago, Nokra said:

Maybe a hot take, but I'm actually sympathetic to the fact that there are real costs associated with running a hugely popular website like YouTube and I'm happy to pay for it, the same as just about any luxury service that adds value to my life.

 

I've got a few friends that pay for Youtube Premium because it comes with Youtube music which they like more than Spotify. So if you feel like you're forced to pay at least it's not a total waste of money.

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16 minutes ago, Nokra said:

Maybe a hot take, but I'm actually sympathetic to the fact that there are real costs associated with running a hugely popular website like YouTube and I'm happy to pay for it, the same as just about any luxury service that adds value to my life. 

 

:shrug:

 

YouTube is ridiculously expensive to run. On top of that, they give creators what? Little more than half of the ad revenue? And they just let any idiot with a camera upload as much 4k content as they want?

 

Here are some 0 view videos to enjoy...

ASTRONAUT.IO

A feed of the present

 

I don't think it's a hot take to be sympathetic with YouTube here. Either they force more people to watch ads or they reduce creator's cuts. I'm perfectly happy paying for YouTube Premium. By the hour, they get more watch time from me and the kids compared to like Netflix or Disney.

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I just fucking pay for YouTube Premium. Why? Because it still supports the people I like to watch based on what I watch, it's only $10/month, and I watch YouTube more than any other streaming service combined, and it's not even close. Not to mention it comes with YouTube music, which isn't as good as spotify, but it's close.

 

 

Point being, deal with the fucking ads or pay for it.

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8 hours ago, Nokra said:

Maybe a hot take, but I'm actually sympathetic to the fact that there are real costs associated with running a hugely popular website like YouTube and I'm happy to pay for it, the same as just about any luxury service that adds value to my life. 

 

:shrug:

 

Yeah I just subscribe to YouTube Premium, sorry not sorry to the poors.

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  • 1 month later...

https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/21/ad_block_google/

 

Google has admitted its efforts to discourage the use of ad blockers now includes delaying the start of videos – a deliberate "suboptimal viewing" experience, as the corporation put it.

 

Earlier this year, YouTube began interrupting videos for those using advert blockers with a pop-up encouraging them to either disable the offending extension or filter, or pay for YT's ad-free premium tier.

 

More recently, netizens have reported experiencing delays in playback when using non-Chrome browsers as well.

 

Upon launching a video, Firefox users have reported a delay of roughly five seconds before playback would begin. In a statement to The Register, Google admitted it was intentionally making its content less binge-able for users unwilling to turn off offending extensions, though this wasn't linked to any one browser.

 

"Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses," a Google spokesperson explained. "In the past week, users using ad blockers may have experienced delays in loading, regardless of the browser they are using."

 

To be clear, Google's business model revolves around advertising, and ad blockers are specifically called out as being in violation of its terms of service. Google also makes Chrome, the widely-used browser that Mozilla's Firefox and others try to compete against.

 

Unfortunately, the method used by Google to detect the presence of ad blockers and trigger the delay appears to be prone to false positives. Several netizens have reported experiencing delays when using Firefox or Microsoft's Edge browser without an ad blocker installed.

 

 

Google told us users who have uninstalled their ad blockers may continue to experience temporary delays loading videos, though the issue should resolve itself after "refreshing their browser."

 

The Register was unable to replicate this behavior in Firefox with or without an ad blocker enabled. This suggests Google could be experimenting to see just how far it can push users to convince them to turn off their ad blockers for good. In other words, not all netizens will or have experienced this delay.

YouTube said its ad block detection does not target any specific browsers, and that people who continue to use ad blockers may experience degraded or interrupted service as its detection efforts evolve.

 

Google's efforts to deter ad blockers don't stop there. As we reported earlier this month, the search giant will be pushing ahead with a planned API change in June that will render legacy Chrome extensions – including ad blockers – useless unless they are overhauled.

 

While it's entirely possible to refactor ad blockers to support the new API – dubbed Manifest V3 – certain functionality including content blocking will likely be diminished. To what extent remains unclear – though some, including AdGuard CTO Andrey Meshkov, are optimistic about the transition, saying it will be able to port to the new platform.

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4 hours ago, Brick said:

I refuse to break. They're making these ads obnoxious so that you give in and subscribe. It's super scummy. 

 

There are phone apps you can download to get rid of ads on mobile at least. 

 

You'll have to cave eventually. They're gatekeeping more and more features.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 12/12/2023 at 5:23 PM, Brick said:

I refuse to break. They're making these ads obnoxious so that you give in and subscribe. It's super scummy. 

 

There are phone apps you can download to get rid of ads on mobile at least. 

 

Obnoxious... and scummy. I let my Premium run out and just got a sponsored video from Scientology. If I continue to get more bullshit like this, I will indeed pay to not see it.

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43 minutes ago, cusideabelincoln said:

 

Obnoxious... and scummy. I let my Premium run out and just got a sponsored video from Scientology. If I continue to get more bullshit like this, I will indeed pay to not see it.


If Google was smart they’d just force people to listen to recent Elon Musk interviews for 60-90 seconds as an ad break: they’d have a record number of YouTube Premium subscribers in no time!

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