YouTube's strange way to deal with ad blockers

In a video posted on Reddit on May 27, the accountSdhd4ksaid the YouTube content I wanted to watch went straight to the end because my phone and computer browser both had ad blockers installed. The only way to continue watching was to turn off the blocker.

In the comments section, many people said they also encountered the same phenomenon. "At first I thought it was a YouTube error, but it wasn't," said the account.Vampire Hedgehog"The video will work if you disable the blocker, which is pretty much the only way if you don't want to pay," the account wrote.Lokileosay more

Others said the video still plays, but without sound, unless the ad blocker is removed, or the Premium plan is purchased. "The blocker seems to disable the video sound. I tried disabling it and everything is back to normal, with ads of course," said the accountFreeman2"I tried adjusting the volume and the video had sound, but only for a second before it turned off again," the account wrote.k1llswitchspeak.

Google and YouTube have not commented.

YouTube began testing ad blockers in June 2023. In late October 2023, YouTube communications director Christopher Lawton confirmed that the platform would “crack down” on ad blockers globally. “Ads help support creators and enable billions of people to access the content they love on YouTube,” he said.

The advertising squeeze is bringing in big revenue for the company. Alphabet's financial report for the first quarter of 2024 showed that YouTube advertising revenue increased 21% compared to the same period last year, bringing in $8.09 billion, equivalent to 10% of the company's total revenue in the quarter. According toPhoneArena, which is seen as the main reason why the company continues to crack down on people who want to install ad blockers.

YouTube has been running in-video ads since August 2007, with Fox, The Simpsons Movie, BMW, and Hairspray being the first. The platform has experimented with different ad formats over the past 15 years, but the most popular is the “TV-style animated overlay,” which runs about 10 seconds after a video has been playing for 15 seconds, according to Eileen Naughton, YouTube’s director of communications.

YouTube now increases the frequency of ads in a video, which annoys users. As a result, many people turn to ad blockers instead of paying for the Premium plan, and this creates a never-ending arms race between the platform and the companies behind the ad blockers.

In Vietnam, the YouTube Premium package costs 79,000 VND per month for individual users, 149,000 VND for a family package (up to 5 members) and 49,000 VND for students.