We can all agree that, whether on video or music streaming platforms, ads are something that a lot of people cannot stand. Having one interrupt your daily entertainment is aggravating enough, but being bombarded by several of them in rapid succession is considered a form of torture by internet users. One of the main dealers of these un-skippable door-to-door salesmen is the colossal video platform, YouTube.
The internet devised a way to ban these relentless ads when the media platform was transformed into the modern equivalent of television, but it was unsurprising that YouTube took action and began creating countermeasures of their own.
As their main source of revenue, ads have been the lifeblood of the video-sharing site for years, and they want to do everything in their power to preserve that. Contrary to that, adblockers have been the only way people can enjoy their video or music in peace.
In recent days, if you use adblockers of any kind, you would see a pop-up from YouTube (that pauses your video), which states that ad blockers aren’t allowed on the platform and you need to remove them, while suggesting you pay for their premium service to have uninterrupted viewing. Others state that ad blocker users might face a limit of three videos per day unless the software is removed, but sources are scarce.
Though these popups can be closed, it’s not outside the realm of possibility that that option would be removed as well, and viewers might be forced to watch ads. However, despite YouTube’s warnings, people on the internet have a way to remove these annoying pop-ups. People from Reddit have congregated and spread the word about specific browser extensions, such as Ublock Origin or Tampermonkey, that can be coded in a way to block these pop-ups. They have also been sharing the specific codes and detailed guides on how to apply them.
Though it is likely that YouTube, and in turn, Google, would take bigger, more aggressive measures to ban these blockers, many will still take advantage of any weakness while these rollouts are still in their infancy. However, it wouldn’t be surprising to assume that people across the internet would tear down barriers and spread hacks to the masses for a truly free viewing experience.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PykzAWnHMk4
Source: Reddit, Softonic, TechCrunch
