Youtube declared war on users who block ads

Youtube has called in the cavalry and the infantry, and has incited them against ad-blocking extensions. It started as a test, but now their initiative has turned into a global offensive.

Have you ever received a notification asking you to turn off your ad blocker extension? Maybe you have already been banned from watching further videos? If you haven't, get ready, because YouTube is merciless this time. Whether you're using a private DNS server or a simple ad blocking interface like AdBlocker or uBlock, YouTube has implemented algorithms that recognize this type of use and immediately displays the following notification:

“Ad blocking services violate YouTube's terms of use.” And then he goes on to list some of the reasons why this has happened, why ads are important, and of course adds a call to upgrade to the paid version of Youtube Premium.

Tudi sami smo preverili, kako je s tem in trenutno uBlock Origin v našem primeru še vedno deluje, ne da bi spreminjali nastavitve. Vemo pa, da je le še vprašanje časa, kdaj se bo to spremenilo. Ko se pojavi obvestilo (za zdaj zelo poredko), imamo še vedno možnost, da ga enostavno skrijemo in nadaljujemo z ogledom. Nekateri uporabniki pa že poročajo o konstantnem nadlegovanju, tako da jim ni preostalo drugega, kot da so za Youtube izklopili storitev za blokiranje oglasov. Tretji uporabniki pa so dobili še bolj ostro obvestilo, in sicer, da bodo imeli prepoved nadaljnje uporabe platforme, če si bodo ogledali še določeno število posnetkov, razen če pred tem izklopijo blokado oglasov.

Google confirmed the tightening of the fight against ad blocking on YouTube with a statement:

“Adblocking violates YouTube's terms of use. We've launched a global effort to encourage viewers who have ad blocking turned on to enable ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience. Ads support a diverse ecosystem of creators around the world and enable billions of users to access popular content on YouTube.”

Google's support website also states that violating the terms of use allows YouTube to block viewing of content.

YouTube's terms of use state that users may not "modify" the service or "bypass, disable, fraudulently use or otherwise interfere with (or attempt to do any of) any part of the service, including security features or features that prevent or limit copying or other use of the content or restrict the use of the service or content."

Youtube will do anything for ads

When YouTube began testing such algorithms in July, ad-blocking service providers responded immediately. For now, they still manage to bypass the protection. The question is how long this will continue to work. An endless cycle can occur very quickly. Youtube updates its protection, and ad blockers are frantically looking for a fix that could ruin YouTube's day. Youtube has the advantage, which is easier to adapt to any correction that will be prepared by the providers of such services. They also have a much larger team of developers and an endless budget on their side.

As expected, users reacted to YouTube's change. Most expressed their outrage and listed quite a few reasons why they block ads. First, the absurd amount of ads that appear at the beginning or while watching clips was pointed out. There's nothing more annoying than listening to your favorite song and an ad pops up for a service or product you're not even interested in. Ads are always intrusive, and on YouTube this is even more noticeable, as they affect the viewing experience.

Subscribers of the paid version of Youtube Premium also expressed their dissatisfaction, because despite being payers, they still have to suffer through at least the section dedicated to sponsors and advertisers while watching content.

YouTube's main source of revenue is advertising, and Google is willing to do whatever it takes to keep that money flowing in, even if it means upsetting its users. He is aware that there is simply no good alternative to Youtube. That's why you can expect to see unskippable 30-second ads on TVs soon when watching YouTube.

Google is hoping that ad-avoidants will migrate to YouTube Premium, which they recently conveniently raised the price of.

If you want to continue blocking Youtube ads, uBlock Origin and Brave browser are confirmed to still work for now.