YouTube's new anti-adblock measures • Hacker News Board

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#661

Post by vprcic » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:46 AM UTC

AlienRobot wrote: post #649

dkga wrote: post #624

Dear YouTube, It’s not so much that I don’t want to see ads - nobody does, but very very often the ad breaks the vibe of what I am watching and it displeases me to the point I will invest my soul and energy to block ads. Some real-life examples: - watching a video about coding where the creator has a monotonic, calm voice that keeps me engaged, and VS Code in dark mode which is easy on my eyes in my dark room at 2am,…

>All this would create value because people would actually watch much more ads. I'm very skeptical about this statement. There is a simple way to stop watching ads: pay for premium. It's 100% effective and works right now. What you are saying is that you want Google to make your ad experience better because you don't want to pay money to use their service. You somehow use it enough for ads to bother you but not enoug…

> There is a simple way to stop watching ads: pay for premium. It's 100% effective and works right now.

For now. With the ever increasing number of "premium" services that promised no ads, but slowly start introducing them, it is just a matter of time before YouTube does the same.

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#662

Post by ptek » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:48 AM UTC

Corrado wrote: post #556

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #414

The primary thing that makes advertisements disagreeable is their irrelevance. That’s not to say whether or not the advertisement is for a product or service for which the viewer is interested in purchasing but how it relates to the context in which it is viewed. People complain about billboards next to a countryside highway because it is entirely irrelevant to driving through the countryside. Actual complaints may b…

I completely agree, though with a twist. Google knows everything about me and yet I get ADs for things that I would never purchase. Just because I'm a middle aged male I see trucks, and beer, and football advertisements all day long. Those are irrelevant to me. If Google would only use their immense knowledge of me and what I like, I might be more amenable to watching their ADs. Where are the ADs for geeky movies tha…

I would like to see a advertisement for “The C Programming Language - ANSI edition”. Yes I have a copy but would like to see it advertised on YouTube. Wish my copy was signed :/

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#663

Post by ryukoposting » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:49 AM UTC

I'll take 12 seconds of silence over seeing the same goddamn T-Mobile ad for the 100th time. Seriously, I can watch a 5 minute video and at it'll play the exact same ad THREE TIMES, at the start, somewhere in the middle, then at the end again. And it's always the most loud, obnoxious ad imaginable.

I was skeptical of SmartTube but it really is the only way YouTube is tolerable anymore.

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#664

Post by carlosjobim » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:49 AM UTC

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #414

The primary thing that makes advertisements disagreeable is their irrelevance. That’s not to say whether or not the advertisement is for a product or service for which the viewer is interested in purchasing but how it relates to the context in which it is viewed. People complain about billboards next to a countryside highway because it is entirely irrelevant to driving through the countryside. Actual complaints may b…

> The primary thing that makes advertisements disagreeable is their irrelevance.

Well, obviously. If the message was relevant or a good offer for the customer, they wouldn't need to pay to advertise it. Advertisement is for products which have low enough cost/benefit for the customer to not sell themselves.

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#665

Post by a2128 » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:52 AM UTC

dkga wrote: post #624

Dear YouTube, It’s not so much that I don’t want to see ads - nobody does, but very very often the ad breaks the vibe of what I am watching and it displeases me to the point I will invest my soul and energy to block ads. Some real-life examples: - watching a video about coding where the creator has a monotonic, calm voice that keeps me engaged, and VS Code in dark mode which is easy on my eyes in my dark room at 2am,…

And videos like this one really shouldn't ever have ads, they shouldn't try to block playback for having an adblocker installed, and they shouldn't tell you to "sign in to confirm you're not a bot"[0], and it feels like YouTube should be liable for negligent manslaughter when they do all of the above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtYSTrjKonU

[0] https://i.imgur.com/8SDKRkZ.png

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#666

Post by Workaccount2 » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:53 AM UTC

MagicMoonlight wrote: post #559

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #414

The primary thing that makes advertisements disagreeable is their irrelevance. That’s not to say whether or not the advertisement is for a product or service for which the viewer is interested in purchasing but how it relates to the context in which it is viewed. People complain about billboards next to a countryside highway because it is entirely irrelevant to driving through the countryside. Actual complaints may b…

The most successful marketing campaign of all time was the marketing department convincing companies that they need marketing. If you’re Coca Cola and you spend £1,000,000,000 on a Christmas TV ad of a bear drinking cola, does that increase your sales? No. It does nothing. But every year they’ll do it. The only marketing that works is at the point of sale, and free samples. Anything which is just random and in public…

Think about all the ways you a smarter than the average person.

Well this is one of them too, unfortunately.

Ads work extremely well. Often they are the single most important aspect of product. Google and Meta are two of the largest corporations on Earth entirely because thin brains click their ads all day. Your hate for ads isn't misguided, but you are hitting the wrong mark.

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#667

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:54 AM UTC

dkga wrote: post #624

Dear YouTube, It’s not so much that I don’t want to see ads - nobody does, but very very often the ad breaks the vibe of what I am watching and it displeases me to the point I will invest my soul and energy to block ads. Some real-life examples: - watching a video about coding where the creator has a monotonic, calm voice that keeps me engaged, and VS Code in dark mode which is easy on my eyes in my dark room at 2am,…

[deleted]

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#668

Post by kerkeslager » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:57 AM UTC

AlienRobot wrote: post #654

mycatisblack wrote: post #597

Here’s something many people probably don’t know. I live in a west-Eu country with several well-defined language borders. Each time we cross a border (on holiday), the youtube ads change language. When I’m logged in. I don’t have a driver’s license, yet the most common ad I get is for second hand cars. I’m in a relationship, yet I regularly get ads for dating sites. I have a job, get ads for jobhunting advice. And th…

First it was "I hate how much ad companies track me and build profiles on me." Now it is "I hate how ads are irrelevant." People need to understand that ads will never be 100% perfect, otherwise you would buy something every time you saw an ad. 99.99% of the ads will miss the target, and that is normal. It would be insane if it worked any other way. For what it is worth Google has a page where you can customize what…

> First it was "I hate how much ad companies track me and build profiles on me."

> Now it is "I hate how ads are irrelevant."

This is an HN echo-chamber complaint, made by people who work for advertisers trying to come up with a way to make their ads seem less awful.

The fact is, relevant ads aren't better. They're still ads, and ads are still inherently bad.

If I'm looking for a used car, I do not want to hear ads from Bob's Lemon Shop about why they're the best place to buy cars. If Bob's Lemon Shop is the best place to buy cars, I'll find that out from independent reviewers who have shopped their before. An ad from Bob's Lemon Shop is relevant to my interest, but that makes it worse because now I'm susceptible to manipulation by the company that paid the most for ads instead of making a more rational decision based on true information from unbiased sources. Having more relevant ads is not good for me, it's good for advertisers.

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#669

Post by Workaccount2 » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:57 AM UTC

akersten wrote: post #209

Thank you for your important work fighting this battle, it must be exhausting. The more Google insists on forcing advertising on us, the more we should look closely at the wildly inappropriate and downright scammy ads they are hosting. If they can't leave well enough alone and look the other way on ad blocking, (which is the only way to avoid exposing myself and family to these dangerous ads), they need to be under a…

Maybe stop using Google services then? It's very straight forward to boycott something you don't agree with.

Re: YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

#670

Post by ryukoposting » Sat, Jun 21, 2025, 10:59 AM UTC

pier25 wrote: post #197

I'm more than happy to pay for Youtube Premium to remove ads for all the family and ensure content creators can monetize their work.

I refuse to, because we all know where that road ends. YouTube pilots brief pre-roll ads for Premium users. Then mid-roll ads. Then longer ads. Then they open the floodgates. Google reliably acts with contempt for its users, I'm only responding accordingly.