Can ad blockers block ads on YouTube?
Well, sort of.
Ads that are included in the video content, need SponaorBlock instead of a Classic adblocker like uBlock Origin
YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
51–60 of 1001 posts
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#52Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#53the people who have a blockers enabled are also the lest likely to click an ad or buy anything advertised . advertisers should want these people to not be shown ads.
Bingo. I would prefer a related items list I can click on. I might not use it often, but have nevwr in my life voluntarily clicked a banner ad or link thru a video ad.
I did, by accident
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#54If YouTube blocks me from watching videos because I use an ad blocker then I'll stop watching videos on YouTube. I don't care if this doesn't hurt YouTube... it will help me stop spending so much time on YouTube.
I can get stuck in a bit of a loop watching videos, but on the whole I think YouTube is an incredible resource. I've learnt so many things from it, I think it's worth working out how to use it in moderation rather than just cutting it out
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#55If YouTube blocks me from watching videos because I use an ad blocker then I'll stop watching videos on YouTube. I don't care if this doesn't hurt YouTube... it will help me stop spending so much time on YouTube.
You can always watch on one of the Invidious mirrors if YouTube proper becomes unusable.
Or download it locally with yt-dlp and watch in a video player.
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#56On a related note as someone who uses YouTube constantly YouTube Premium is absolutely worth it.
What makes it worth it? Isn't the experience the same as just running an ad-blocker?
YT Premium only makes the problem worse by requiring you to log in using an account that is tied to your real world identity and was used for payment processing. You just end up giving more data points to Google to track you, cross-reference with other sources and shove more ads in other platforms, still get native ads, and Google can just add their own ads later (as it is happening step by step with streaming companies).
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#57I hope my sheer stubbornness will keep me from ever subscribing to Youtube premium.
- Google used to have Google Music, which I loved and paid for willingly as it was a good service, the recommendation algorithm was _not bad_, the UI was _okay_, and you could upload your own music and have it integrate with their system.
- Google used to by default allow you to play Youtube in the background and let you use the picture in picture mode for free - they removed that feature and put it behind a paywall.
- You can't volume control ads. I have Youtube playing in the background on my bedside table at night and having consistent volume is key. I don't want blaring audio telling me to buy X product or use Y service, waking me up when I'm trying to sleep. Yet another way for them to convince you to get Youtube premium.
- I hate all forms of advertisements. Don't shove advertisements in my face. If I want a product, I'll look for it and do my own research. I don't want algorithms and AI deciding what I want to purchase. When I've had advertising slip through, it's usually for things that I've already bought recently (mattress, clothing, etc.)
I will continue to willingly eat away at Google's profits for as long as they run YouTube.
I've been looking into some kind of open source solution that automatically grabs my Youtube history playlist and downloads and automatically catalogs these videos on a network share somewhere locally. (If someone can recommend a solution, please feel free!)
Too many times I've had videos that I've added to a playlist be removed for some inane reason (copyright violation, DMCA requests, etc. etc.)
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yet. Twitch has some pretty hardcore ad system that even uBlock can't block straight up and you have to use a combination of tools/scripts https://github.com/pixeltris/TwitchAdSolutions https://old.reddit.com/r/Adblock/comments/10fgy9y/twitch_adb...
I only have uBlock Origin and never see ads on Twitch. Downvoting does not change this fact (and if I knew exactly why my experience is different, I would provide details).
Same with uMatrix. However I do get YouTube ads... Twitch ads sound like they would be horribly frustrating because of the real time nature of the experience !
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
100% this, I'm not watching ads. I haven't really seen any advertising on my electronic devices in a decade (edit: actually closer to two decades) and that's the way it will continue to be. My time is valuable, my mental space is valuable, my computer is mine. You will not make it do things I don't want it to do. Advertising is a plague on society. (I speak from experience, I worked for 3 years at an ad agency.)
…you can purchase ad free YouTube.
except ad free youtube still has ads (in the form of sponsored content). and your data on youtube is still mined to serve you more ads elsewhere.
this isnt about ads. it's just another tactic for forcing users to log in.
Re: YouTube tests blocking videos unless you disable ad blockers
#60On a related note as someone who uses YouTube constantly YouTube Premium is absolutely worth it.
My main issue is the tracking, if youtube premium stopped the awful tracking i would be fine, but it doesn't.