Youtube forcing ads on uBlock

[Thunderbird]

I have uBlock which has worked great against any and all ads on youtube for at least 6 years. That is, until about two weeks ago.

Now I notice at the beginning of every video, the screen goes blank and I have to click off 'skip ads' in order to start playing the video. Then, at a random point during the video, the screen will go blank again with a notification countdown saying I can skip ads in 5 seconds.... which I have to click off to resume the video.

So it's not forcing me to actually watch the ads, it's just forcing me to manually click off the skip ad notification, something I've never had to do before. It's extremely annoying, especially when I am in engrossed in the middle of a video and the screen suddenly goes blank.

Does anyone know what is going on? Any workarounds? Or should I try a different ad blocker?

 

[Pilot Jones]

Following this thread because I’m facing the identical issue with Safari. It started a few months ago for me.

I shifted over to Firefox and use AdBlock Plus & uBlock in conjunction, which does mitigate the issue. But haven’t found a fix yet for Safari.

 

[James_C]

This is probably an unpopular comment. I do understand the annoyance of ads. The purpose of the ads is to provide funding for the platform. I personally don’t support the ”I want something for nothing brigade”. YouTube and websites like this forum survive by having adverts that support the platform. Ad blockers just deprive the platform of revenue and if everyone did it then you are going to see more subscriptions and paywalls. With YouTube, you have a choice, you can subscribe to premium to avoid the adverts. Just saying …

 

[max2]

I have uBlock which has worked great against any and all ads on youtube for at least 6 years. That is, until about two weeks ago.

Now I notice at the beginning of every video, the screen goes blank and I have to click off 'skip ads' in order to start playing the video. Then, at a random point during the video, the screen will go blank again with a notification countdown saying I can skip ads in 5 seconds.... which I have to click off to resume the video.

So it's not forcing me to actually watch the ads, it's just forcing me to manually click off the skip ad notification, something I've never had to do before. It's extremely annoying, especially when I am in engrossed in the middle of a video and the screen suddenly goes blank.

Does anyone know what is going on? Any workarounds? Or should I try a different ad blocker?

That is interesting!

Hopefully the same does not happen to Adguard. Yes it is paid but is is the best stand alone software ad blocker. I know they have a free firefox addon but I prefer my ad blocker to be system wide so it blocks in game server ads too!

 

[Thunderbird]

Following this thread because I’m facing the identical issue with Safari. It started a few months ago for me.

I shifted over to Firefox and use AdBlock Plus & uBlock in conjunction, which does mitigate the issue. But haven’t found a fix yet for Safari.

I am using Firefox with uBlock. Are you not getting any ad notifications on youtube at all?

 

[Thunderbird]

This is probably an unpopular comment. I do understand the annoyance of ads. The purpose of the ads is to provide funding for the platform. I personally don’t support the ”I want something for nothing brigade”. YouTube and websites like this forum survive by having adverts that support the platform. Ad blockers just deprive the platform of revenue and if everyone did it then you are going to see more subscriptions and paywalls. With YouTube, you have a choice, you can subscribe to premium to avoid the adverts. Just saying …

This talking point has been debunked for years. Adblockers do not lose revenue for anyone, as the ads are already paid for long before they are loaded on videos. The ads run on the video regardless of whether there is an adblocker or not, you just don't see them. Views on youtube with an adblocker still count as views, and ad revenues are based on views.

Besides, Google owns youtube and Google is drowning in money. As youtube shifts its algorithms to promote mainstream corporate broadcasts (i.e. major network news outlets) over small independent content creators, the higher view counts generated by mainstream sources also in turn generates more ad revenue. In short, youtube does not lose any money from people using ad blockers.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I use 1Blocker on YouTube. And most times, I see the same screen you do, OP. I do not click the skip ads option as that is what YT wants you to do. That way they can adjust their algorithm to defeat the adblocking app. The clock quickly winds down much faster than the ad would have. And in a matter of 10 seconds or less, I am watching the content minus the ads.

 

[Thunderbird]

I use 1Blocker on YouTube. And most times, I see the same screen you do, OP. I do not click the skip ads option as that is what YT wants you to do. That way they can adjust their algorithm to defeat the adblocking app. The clock quickly winds down much faster than the ad would have. And in a matter of 10 seconds or less, I am watching the content minus the ads.

Interesting. Thanks. I am using uBlock with Firefox. Not sure if uBlock is the same as uBlock Origin?

This is what I am seeing.....

At the start of every video (doesn't matter which video). The screen goes blank, and I have to manually click off the 'skip ads' notification button. Otherwise the screen stays blank during the playing of the ad, even though the ad is still being blocked:



Then at a random point during the video, there is a countdown to another 'skip ads' notification that I have to manually click off.



Then at the end of every video, the screen goes blank again:





Are there filters I should be adjusting? This has never happened before, and even with the latest Firefox update (from yesterday) it's still happening.

I really like uBlock and have used it for a long time. But maybe I will try another adblocker.

 

[max2]

If you want free ad blocker this is what you should be using nowadays.

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/

Yes there is AdBlocker Plus too but people always say it is a ram hog.

 

[pshufd]

I'm using UBlock-Origin with Firefox and do not see any YouTube ads at all. I don't have to click or wait or whatever.

There are many videos I watch with embedded ads but I can skip past the ads.

Which browser are you using?

 

[Blowback]

I use 1Blocker on YouTube. And most times, I see the same screen you do, OP. I do not click the skip ads option as that is what YT wants you to do. That way they can adjust their algorithm to defeat the adblocking app. The clock quickly winds down much faster than the ad would have. And in a matter of 10 seconds or less, I am watching the content minus the ads.

Off topic: Anyone know why some get no YouTube adds using Apple TV whilst others , myself included, do ? I have a 4th Gen HD ATV....and get adds. I know of two who have the 5th Gen 4K ATV and they get no ads. Mine is a new Samsung 'smart' tv ...others have new(er) LG smart tvs. Any ideas? Yes, I've asked this before but haven't gotten any clear responses.

 

[MacBH928]

Yes, there is a difference. use uBlock ORIGIN and only that. I have this on FF I see no ads what so ever. Note if you are using Safari, due to Apple resitrictions, completely taking out the ad is not possible and this is why on YouTube you get the experience you are getting meanwhile on Chrome, Edge, Brave, and FF you won't see the ad at all.

Please note that Chrome and Edge are releasing new rules for their browsers(I think its this March, called Manifest3) that will limit adblocking ability probably rendering adblockers ability. If you want to continue to enjoy adblocking use FF or Brave.

Following this thread because I’m facing the identical issue with Safari. It started a few months ago for me.

I shifted over to Firefox and use AdBlock Plus & uBlock in conjunction, which does mitigate the issue. But haven’t found a fix yet for Safari.

Don't use AdBlock Plus & uBlock, its redudant. use only uBlock Origin its the best. You can roam all the privacy concerned forums and you will see they all agree.

This is probably an unpopular comment. I do understand the annoyance of ads. The purpose of the ads is to provide funding for the platform. I personally don’t support the ”I want something for nothing brigade”. YouTube and websites like this forum survive by having adverts that support the platform. Ad blockers just deprive the platform of revenue and if everyone did it then you are going to see more subscriptions and paywalls. With YouTube, you have a choice, you can subscribe to premium to avoid the adverts. Just saying …

You are absolutely right. Now I will pay Google to use YouTube, and they do not collect any thing on me or breach my privacy...do we have a deal?

I use 1Blocker on YouTube. And most times, I see the same screen you do, OP. I do not click the skip ads option as that is what YT wants you to do. That way they can adjust their algorithm to defeat the adblocking app. The clock quickly winds down much faster than the ad would have. And in a matter of 10 seconds or less, I am watching the content minus the ads.

On Safari you can't take out the Skip This Ad thing no matter what blocker you use.

 

[MacBH928]

Off topic: Anyone know why some get no YouTube adds using Apple TV whilst others , myself included, do ? I have a 4th Gen HD ATV....and get adds. I know of two who have the 5th Gen 4K ATV and they get no ads. Mine is a new Samsung 'smart' tv ...others have new(er) LG smart tvs. Any ideas? Yes, I've asked this before but haven't gotten any clear responses.

I don't and my only guess is that the Apple TV has no implementation or way to display ads capability. Its just not built in the system. I am only guessing, because ads should be played on any device afaik.

 

[ian87w]

I gave up on this ad blocking cat-n-mouse game and just paid for YouTube Premium family. Not only I get ad-free viewing (it is highly annoying when you suddenly see an ad in a middle of actually serious content, and the ads are now very in-your-face like those TV-ads), I also get YouTube Music, and my father can enjoy Youtube without ads as well (and it's safer for him vs him accidentally clicking those ads and installing crap).

It is what it is. There's no free lunch. No matter what you do, Google will try their best to circumvent those ad blockers.

 

[ian87w]

Off topic: Anyone know why some get no YouTube adds using Apple TV whilst others , myself included, do ? I have a 4th Gen HD ATV....and get adds. I know of two who have the 5th Gen 4K ATV and they get no ads. Mine is a new Samsung 'smart' tv ...others have new(er) LG smart tvs. Any ideas? Yes, I've asked this before but haven't gotten any clear responses.

I have Sony Android TV, and YouTube has ads on a non-premium account. Imo it's not the platform, but the YouTube app itself. Those who don't see ads might actually have YouTube premium account (or the account is under a family member who has YouTube Premium).

 

[MacBH928]

I gave up on this ad blocking cat-n-mouse game and just paid for YouTube Premium family. Not only I get ad-free viewing (it is highly annoying when you suddenly see an ad in a middle of actually serious content, and the ads are now very in-your-face like those TV-ads), I also get YouTube Music, and my father can enjoy Youtube without ads as well (and it's safer for him vs him accidentally clicking those ads and installing crap).

It is what it is. There's no free lunch. No matter what you do, Google will try their best to circumvent those ad blockers.

Exactly. To be honest, I don't play the cat and mouse game. uBlock Origin kills all the youtube ads butter smooth. But uBlock Origin is only available for specific browsers. Brave on mobile blocks them too.

I did join premium, and Google deserve the money especially the family plan. Its so much worth it for me and my family not to go through that horrific multi add per 5 min video experience.

My problem with YouTube Premium is the following:-

1) Even if you pay, you are only paying to disable ads. They will still breach your privacy, collect, and track you to death forever storing that data on you building that sweet profile to serve you ads on Google.com or other sites joining the google ad program.

2) Watching videos logged in will continue to suggests videos based on what you watch. When I am bored I watch random shows on YouTube app on TV. Then I go to YouTube app on my iPhone where I am interested in tech videos and suddenly my timeline is filled with Martha Stewart cooking tips. I tried to do the watch in "incognito" mode, but guess what?

When you go incognito, Google still display ads even if you are a paying customer🤬🤬🤬

 

[Thunderbird]

I'm using UBlock-Origin with Firefox and do not see any YouTube ads at all. I don't have to click or wait or whatever.

There are many videos I watch with embedded ads but I can skip past the ads.

Which browser are you using?

Firefox

 

[Thunderbird]

Yes, there is a difference. use uBlock ORIGIN and only that. I have this on FF I see no ads what so ever. Note if you are using Safari, due to Apple resitrictions, completely taking out the ad is not possible and this is why on YouTube you get the experience you are getting meanwhile on Chrome, Edge, Brave, and FF you won't see the ad at all.

Please note that Chrome and Edge are releasing new rules for their browsers(I think its this March, called Manifest3) that will limit adblocking ability probably rendering adblockers ability. If you want to continue to enjoy adblocking use FF or Brave.


Don't use AdBlock Plus & uBlock, its redudant. use only uBlock Origin its the best. You can roam all the privacy concerned forums and you will see they all agree.



You are absolutely right. Now I will pay Google to use YouTube, and they do not collect any thing on me or breach my privacy...do we have a deal?



On Safari you can't take out the Skip This Ad thing no matter what blocker you use.

With uBlock Origin are you getting any 'skip ads' notifications?

 

[James_C]

This talking point has been debunked for years. Adblockers do not lose revenue for anyone, as the ads are already paid for long before they are loaded on videos.

I am sorry, your point makes little sense. The revenue paid to Google comes from real companies to promote their products and services. What would the point be in these companies willing to pay real money to Google to show adverts if everyone uses ad Blockers to bypass them? Clearly the companies would stop paying Google and other companies that offer the same service. Google would then have to look at other ways to pay for the services that they run, and that is likely to be some form of paywall and subscription. If more and more people use Adblockers with the "I'm alright Jack, sod everyone else" attitude, then the move to subscription is going to more likely. This would impact the very people who may not be able to pay for a subscription, but are willing to watch adverts to view the content. I am sorry there is no such thing as a free lunch without consequences for other people.

Also I note from the Forum Rules under Things not to do

12. Don't discuss blocking ads on the site.

Not sure if @arn was referring to specifically blocking this site or Ad Blockers generally. However I would like to point out this site would not exist without ad revenue to support it. I understand people's complaints about Google tracking your data, but it is your choice to use services like YouTube.

 

[svanstrom]

This is probably an unpopular comment. I do understand the annoyance of ads. The purpose of the ads is to provide funding for the platform. I personally don’t support the ”I want something for nothing brigade”. YouTube and websites like this forum survive by having adverts that support the platform. Ad blockers just deprive the platform of revenue and if everyone did it then you are going to see more subscriptions and paywalls. With YouTube, you have a choice, you can subscribe to premium to avoid the adverts. Just saying …

The main problem isn't the ads themselves (at least not for me), but the tracking the comes along with it; not to mention that it loads code from outside of the domain that I've chosen to visit, which is something that numerous times over the years has been used to try to load all kinds of malware and scams.

Then it's also about placement. I also run adblockers etc simply because without those many websites becomes 50+% of flashing and moving ads; and at least for me it's impossible to focus on a serious news story when there at the same time are three video ads with people running around in them, and occasionally also going for eye contact with the camera.

Make the ads reasonable and I will gladly accept them being there; but when you clearly don't give a sh*t about your customers, then I, as a customer, will care the same in return.

I'll give an example from a local newspaper that I actually intended to pay for: There would still be ads beyond the paywall, and as part of paying I had to verify my real identity as well as agreeing to them sharing that with their advertisers.

At least in that case YT is a bit better.

 

[Thunderbird]

I am sorry, your point makes little sense. The revenue paid to Google comes from real companies to promote their products and services. What would the point be in these companies willing to pay real money to Google to show adverts if everyone uses ad Blockers to bypass them? Clearly the companies would stop paying Google and other companies that offer the same service. Google would then have to look at other ways to pay for the services that they run, and that is likely to be some form of paywall and subscription. If more and more people use Adblockers with the "I'm alright Jack, sod everyone else" attitude, then the move to subscription is going to more likely. This would impact the very people who may not be able to pay for a subscription, but are willing to watch adverts to view the content. I am sorry there is no such thing as a free lunch without consequences for other people.

Also I note from the Forum Rules under Things not to do

12. Don't discuss blocking ads on the site.

Not sure if @arn was referring to specifically blocking this site or Ad Blockers generally. However I would like to point out this site would not exist without ad revenue to support it. I understand people's complaints about Google tracking your data, but it is your choice to use services like YouTube.

The fact is not everyone uses adblockers. I see comments under youtube videos all the time complaining about what ads they're seeing. From the sheer amount of comments I see about ads, I would guess most people on youtube don't actually use adblockers.

Youtube and Mac Rumours existed long before ads were part of their sites. So yes, sites can exist without ads. If youtube goes full subscription, I will stop using it. Numerous youtubers have already left, driven out by censorship and demonetization.

 

[Thunderbird]

UPDATE: I found out that this is a known problem with uBlock and to some extent uBlock Origin.

I also discovered that uBlock is a forked version of uBlock Origin that has been stripped down and made lighter (fewer filters and features). Anyway, I tried removing uBlock and installed uBlock Origin instead, and that seems to have done the trick. No more 'skip ads' notifications that I have to manually click off, or blank pages.

Thanks to everyone for their info and advice.

 

[upandown]

UPDATE: I found out that this is a known problem with uBlock and to some extent uBlock Origin.

I also discovered that uBlock is a forked version of uBlock Origin that has been stripped down and made lighter (fewer filters and features). Anyway, I tried removing uBlock and installed uBlock Origin instead, and that seems to have done the trick. No more 'skip ads' notifications that I have to manually click off, or blank pages.

Thanks to everyone for their info and advice.

Correct and another important point. It’s not about being “lighter”, ublock sells your browsing history to the marketers like most adblocking programs. “Ublock origin” is the only adblocker that doesn’t and also performs the best. It’s in fact one of the lightest programs as well.

ublock purposely took the name to trick and take uninformed users from ublock origin. They are 2 very different developers and programs.

 

[pshufd]

Correct and another important point. It’s not about being “lighter”, ublock sells your browsing history to the marketers like most adblocking programs. “Ublock origin” is the only adblocker that doesn’t and also performs the best. It’s in fact one of the lightest programs as well.

ublock purposely took the name to trick and take uninformed users from ublock origin. They are 2 very different developers and programs.

Thanks for the history. Someone recommended Ublock-origin to me several years ago and I just keep using it.

 

[Blowback]

Correct and another important point. It’s not about being “lighter”, ublock sells your browsing history to the marketers like most adblocking programs. “Ublock origin” is the only adblocker that doesn’t and also performs the best. It’s in fact one of the lightest programs as well.

ublock purposely took the name to trick and take uninformed users from ublock origin. They are 2 very different developers and programs.

upandown,
I don't see Ublock origin on the App Store....(or its buried as a 'search' turns up everything but)...is that where you downloaded it from? 'Search' on the App Store is sometimes a joke....