Google takes action – SHOCK2

YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers to encourage users to get premium subscriptions.

For many years, a game of cat and mouse has raged between YouTube and users using ad blockers. In 2022, YouTube was able to shut down the popular third-party app YouTube Vanced to encourage users to get a premium subscription.

The following year, YouTube went further and began testing features designed to block ad blockers. Users reported that videos stopped playing when the platform detected an ad blocker.

Then in January 2024, it was reported that YouTube was slowing down video loading times for users who had ad blockers enabled.

Latest tactic: Skip videos until the end

Users are currently reporting that videos jump straight to the end on playback if an ad blocker is installed. If you deactivate the ad blocker, playback will work normally again.

There are other reports from users that there are more problems when using ad blockers. For some users, the sound in videos is muted or videos no longer load properly and get stuck while loading.

sources):
Robot police / Jorn Schmidt