While YouTube has been aggressive in it pursuit against ad blockers over the last few years, like most notably with the shutdown of the Vanced app earlier in 2022 and even limiting video playback for those using ad blockers. At the same time, YouTube has aggressively expanded its usage of ad breaks during videos and begun more heavily marketing its practically zero-advertising “Premium” paid subscription as the only way to view ad-free.
More About YouTube and Ad Blockers
One such recent discovery, as reported by 9to5Google, is that the video streaming platform seems to auto-advance videos straight to their end screen any time it detects you are running an ad blocker. When the ad blocker was disabled, video playback worked normally, and when it was enabled post-video had fast-forwarded to the end.
Some Reddit users have even reported other issues, such as videos buffering indefinitely when rewinding and playing with no sound. A few users reported that the audio would begin playing again after moving the volume slider but then quickly broke. One Reddit user shared the following demos of these issues.
As ads are a major revenue stream for YouTube — along with Premium subscriptions of course, the new tactics on blocking users from watching videos coupled with an announcement about adding its Originals programming outside its paywall suggest it may have made up its mind to push back harder against those using ad blockers. On the other hand, resilient users are always looking out for new ways to bypass ads by using different browser extensions, or third-party YouTube clients like NewPipe.
The continued cat-and-mouse game between YouTube and ad blockers is symptomatic of the increasingly uncomfortable dynamic that exists between people who don’t want to have ads shoved in their faces, and platforms who live off the backs of advertisers. While YouTube is getting better at battling ad blocking, users are evolving and will always find ways to avoid ads and continue watching their favorite content.
The ultimate impact of YouTube’s tactics, however, is very much up in the air with determined users likely to put up a fight against advertisements. This might result in YouTube needing to find a balance between defending its income streams and customers enjoying ad-free material or it will annoy its users.
