YouTube's crusade against ad blocker extensions is already there for months. First, some users were unable to watch videos with an ad blocker on, others' watching experience was disturbed with warnings about breaching the platform's terms of service, while some reported loading delays with an active ad blocker extension (but the latter was then debunked by Adblock itself).
Now, YouTube users encounter another problem: the platform intensifies its efforts to ensure advertisements are seen—or at least, endured. Reports from various users showcase that YouTube has started displaying black screens of varying lengths, from 6 to 30 seconds, in place of traditional ads for users with ad blockers. These blank intervals mimic the duration of regular ads, forcing users to wait before accessing their desired content.
This latest move ensures that those who want to avoid ads will still wait through the same ad durations even if the ads themselves are not visible, thus effectively nullifying the primary advantage of ad blockers. Ingenious.
Besides, YouTube is now testing server-side ad injection, a more sophisticated method of delivering ads. Unlike the previous system where ads were separate media components, this new approach integrates ads directly into the main video feed. This makes it much harder for ad blockers to differentiate and block ad content.
YouTube is currently experimenting with server-side ad injection. This means that the ad is being added directly into the video stream.
— SponsorBlock (and DeArrow) (@SponsorBlock) June 12, 2024
This breaks sponsorblock since now all timestamps are offset by the ad times.
For now, many users may still be unaware of this change, as YouTube appears to be gradually rolling out server-side ad injection.
So, which options do we have left? YouTube Premium. YouTube's ongoing campaign against ad blockers coincides with its push to promote its subscription service offering an ad-free experience for $13.99 a month. This service has gained substantial traction earlier this year, boasting over 100 million paying subscribers as of earlier 2024.
Despite this success, a significant number of users continue to rely on ad blockers to avoid advertisements.
On point: Ad Blocker Use on the Rise Amid Google and YouTube Crackdowns
Another option is, obviously, pirating content. In response to recent YouTube policy changes, more and more users turn this old but not-yet-forgotten technique. Reports suggest that digital video piracy is already experiencing a resurgence, with over 230 billion views of pirated video material annually. The US alone accounts for approximately 15 billion of these views, primarily for TV shows and movies. While specific statistics on YouTube piracy software are not detailed, the broader context of digital piracy may at least indicate significant losses for the content industry, estimated between $29.2 billion and $71 billion annually in the US alone due to digital piracy.
Audio and video ripping tools, such as yt-dlp, are also gaining popularity. Despite being a command-line interface tool, users find it manageable and effective for downloading videos for ad-free playback. For those less tech-savvy, applications like YeetDL, iTubeGo, or 4K Video Downloader Plus offer user-friendly alternatives. The latter gained over 5 million new users in the last quarter of 2023.
The tendency is unambiguous: If YouTube continues to flood videos with ads or turn them into unskippable black screens for that matter, users will find ways to circumvent them.
