With a recent update YouTube introduced a anti-ad blocking feature. This warns users with pop-ups if they use tools or extensions that alter the reproduction of advertisements.
The platform’s announcement, in this sense, reads a message of this type “Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube – You can get rid of advertising with YouTube Premium, and creators can still get paid from your subscription“.
The window that appears offers users two possible options: allow advertising or choose one paid subscription. However, for now, closing the alert allows you to view the video even if you are blocking ads.
Complaints about this action taken by YouTube have started to circulate on social media, as many people use adblockers to limit the tracker and other scripts that violate the privacy. Security researchers have long urged users to limit exposure to advertising networks, as they are often used for distribution spyware come Pegasus.
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The other party involved, i.e. the blocking plugins, also wanted to express their opinion in this regard. Specifically, the adblocker team AdBlock Plus claims YouTube’s “ad wall” is “Particularly distressing for many of our users“.
Some of them are unhappy that many ads on YouTube include what they call “obvious scams” which remain afloat even after adjustments reports to Google.
For now, AdBlock Plus recommends users keep theirs updated filter lists, so that any changes made by the list authors keep the extensions effective. These tools, it should be remembered, do not only work on YouTube but in any other context linked to banners and advertising.
L’adblocker uBlockOrigin already has a workaround offered on its page subreddit, all thanks to the latest update offered to users. The post also warns that stacking multiple adblockers or using old block lists will not help the user bypass YouTube’s new system.
The post also includes a disclaimer “YouTube changes its detection scripts twice a day, which means that even if you received a filter update today, you may need another one soon. There is no way around this problema”.
