Google intensifies fight against YouTube adblockers

[harlan4096]

Google just announced that it is intensifying its fight against adblockers on YouTube. The message was posted to the official YouTube support website.

The writing was on the wall. Reports about changes on YouTube designed to prevent users from using adblockers started in early 2023.  Users with adblockers saw anti-adblocking prompts and Google ran several tests on YouTube to fight adblocking.

Google confirmed the crackdown on adblockers in November 2023. Affected users were given two options: turn off the adblocker on YouTube or pay for YouTube Premium.

New ways of making ads more endurable were discovered. Extensions that skip or fast forward ads appeared in extension stores.

Google did not only fight adblocking in browsers. It also is fighting against YouTube frontends, such as Invidious, and third-party YouTube apps.  Google had some success in this regard in the past. In 2022, its actions caused YouTube Vanced to be discontinued.

 Google's fight against third-party apps



Today's announcement puts Google's focus on third-party apps that "violate YouTube's Terms of Service". Here, Google is focusing on apps that include ad-blocking capabilities. The company mentions none in the announcement, but it clearly took a swing at Invidious last week already.
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