Evasion of YouTube's Ad Blocker crackdown grows more challenging
01.11.2023 posted by Admin
The exciting thing about a certain company changing how we experience online video sharing is that they have a say in how unpleasant that experience can become. YouTube has taken steps to encourage users to turn off their ad blockers or subscribe to their ad-free Premium service, and now they are taking a more direct approach.
As users explore YouTube, they will now encounter a pop-up message that urges them to disable their ad blocker. The message states that "video playback is blocked unless YouTube is allowed or the ad blocker is turned off." This warning first started appearing for users earlier this month, and in the beginning, you could dismiss it by closing the message. However, YouTube soon made it mandatory to acknowledge the message, but users could still exit it after a short countdown. Now, YouTube is insisting that users take action in favor of the platform to get rid of the pop-up.
According to Christopher Lawton, YouTube's communications manager, using an ad blocker goes against the platform's terms of service. He also explained that "ads support a diverse community of creators worldwide and enable billions of people to access their favorite content on YouTube."
Back in May, some Reddit users noticed that YouTube was considering making users disable their ad blockers to watch videos, with the alternative being a subscription to YouTube Premium. At the same time, the company reported a decrease in ad revenue for the third consecutive quarter, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
YouTube initially experimented with limiting video browsing for users with ad blockers after they watched just three videos in June. According to Lawton's statements to The Verge, this was a "small global experiment." Meanwhile, YouTube has been increasing the number of ads on its website in an effort to boost revenue, starting with unskippable 30-second ads on the platform's TV app.
As users explore YouTube, they will now encounter a pop-up message that urges them to disable their ad blocker. The message states that "video playback is blocked unless YouTube is allowed or the ad blocker is turned off." This warning first started appearing for users earlier this month, and in the beginning, you could dismiss it by closing the message. However, YouTube soon made it mandatory to acknowledge the message, but users could still exit it after a short countdown. Now, YouTube is insisting that users take action in favor of the platform to get rid of the pop-up.
According to Christopher Lawton, YouTube's communications manager, using an ad blocker goes against the platform's terms of service. He also explained that "ads support a diverse community of creators worldwide and enable billions of people to access their favorite content on YouTube."
Back in May, some Reddit users noticed that YouTube was considering making users disable their ad blockers to watch videos, with the alternative being a subscription to YouTube Premium. At the same time, the company reported a decrease in ad revenue for the third consecutive quarter, as reported by The Wall Street Journal.
YouTube initially experimented with limiting video browsing for users with ad blockers after they watched just three videos in June. According to Lawton's statements to The Verge, this was a "small global experiment." Meanwhile, YouTube has been increasing the number of ads on its website in an effort to boost revenue, starting with unskippable 30-second ads on the platform's TV app.