Posted on 10/15/2023 1:11:41 PM PDT by ducttape45
The experiment is meant to urge users to disable their ad blockers or subscribe to YouTube Premium.
YouTube is looking to take a more aggressive approach in preventing viewers from using ad blockers while watching videos on its platform. As BleepingComputer reports, people have been posting screenshots on social networks like Reddit that show a pop-up notice warning them that their player will be blocked after three videos.
The warning says YouTube will block their ability to play videos on the platform unless they disable their ad blocker or add the website to their white list. "Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide," the notice continues. To go ad-free, the company tells users to get a YouTube Premium subscription so "creators can still get paid." Prior to these warnings, YouTube only showed popups to ad blocker users, reminding them that it's against the website's TOS. Eventually, it added a timer to the notices to ensure viewers take the time to read them.
The website has confirmed to BleepingComputer that the new alerts are part of an experiment. A spokesperson told the publication that YouTube is "running a small experiment globally that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium." They said that YouTube might temporarily disable playback "[i]n extreme cases, where viewers continue their use of ad blockers." The spokesperson added that they will only disable playback "if viewers ignore repeated requests to allow ads on YouTube," though it's unclear if that means YouTube won't automatically block playback after a viewer watches three videos and will give them more opportunities to comply.
At the moment, this new approach only affects a small number of users, and YouTube didn't say how many people and regions are part of the test. The website, which makes most of its money from ads, has seen its ad revenue decline over the past three quarters, so we won't be surprised if this test expands to more users around the world should it turn out to be effective.
I've read where YT is targeting people who "have accounts," so if you simply log off then the warnings disappear, but then I won't have access to whatever channels I have saved, so that's not a good suggestion. I have found a couple of coding suggestions for use in Ublock Origin or the Brave browser, but I wanted to get ya'alls opinion about this. So far, the UBlock Origin coding doesn't seem to work. The jury is out on Brave.
If, at the end of the day, YT blocks me cuz I won't disable my adblocker, then I'll do as I do other websites that block me cuz I have an adblocker, I just won't go there anymore, but this, again, censorship at its tyrannical worst.
Crazy idea here. Stop using communist tube and start using one of the competitors. So crazy it might just work.
Just switch to a Brave browser, for YouTube for sure, won’t hurt you anywhere else either.
So far Brave is working for me.
Stop YouTube and download DuckDuckGo...............Good vids.
/rant
That would work great if one website didn’t have 1000 times the content of the others.
Crazy idea here. Stop using communist tube and start using one of the competitors
_____
Unfortunately, even here on FR , many post YouTube links when the same thing is on Rumble
Over and over and over again I see it
If it’s that bad here it’s hopeless overall
I’m about to give up
Prolly get more done..
Just started with me on Brave browser. I just ignore it. If YT pulls that stuff then forget YT. It’s impossible watching that site with ads every couple minutes and if you don’t click on skip ads then you could be watching thirty minutes of nonstop BS.
Remi find us all that it is a business, not a service.
I wholeheartedly agree. I skip videos whenever I can. I want to read!
And what method do they plan on using to block people.
Cookies can be deleted. And I am pretty sure they won’t try to block by IP as many IP’s are not permanently assigned.
It costs money to be YouTube and host millions up on millions of videos Pay for YouTube premium to avoid ads. Don’t want to pay? Then watch the ads. Ad blockers are theft.
Apparently YT is targeting just a few accounts (yeah right) so even though I have no content posted there myself, because I log in using my Google account I’ve been targeted. I’m gonna start using Brave more than the chromium browser I have been using (Slimjet) because I think the developers have stopped updating it, but if YT decides to roll out this censorship enmasse then everyone who browses YT will be affected if they use an ad blocker, which I think most of us utilize.
How am I supposed watch “Cheap Trick Live at Budokan?” Or Nobuyku Tsujii, the blind pianist from Japan. I listen to him play Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos #2 and #3 every Thursday. If hearing and seeing a blind dude play that doesn’t inspire you, nothing will.
Reminding all of us…
Damned autocorrect!
The method they are using is your user account. If you log into YT, and your account is being targeted, that’s criteria they use.
Same here. I never use Youtube on my phone, the ads are beyond obnoxious. I only use it on my PC.
That’s what I’m gonna start doing. Slimjet isn’t working well these days and they stopped updating it.
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