YouTube Invites War on Ad-Blockers

Jakarta – Last May, it was reported that YouTube was testing blocking ad blockers. Then, in June, YouTube tested allowing ad blockers to run for three videos, after which playback becomes temporarily unavailable altogether. 

A new version of the same test, which rolled out sometime in August, displayed a 30-second timer. While the timer is running, users would have the option to ‘Allow YouTube Ads’ or ‘Try YouTube Premium.’ The first option disables the ad blocker from blocking YouTube. The latter redirects the user to the Premium landing page in order to sign up for a free trial or paid monthly subscription.

According to the YouTube Communication Manager Christopher Lawton, users who experience ad blocking will see a notification stating that video playback will be blocked unless they allow ads or disable ad blockers.

This effort also includes a request to users to allow ads or try YouTube Premium. 

Some users may have gotten information about YouTube's policy towards ad blockers, and while they can still watch videos, some of them have reported that YouTube now blocks videos in full almost every time.

YouTube had confirmed that it had disabled videos for users with ad blockers back in June, though at the time, Lawton described it as a "small experiment globally." 

Now, YouTube has expanded these measures. In recent weeks, more and more users using ad blockers have reported that they are unable to watch videos on YouTube.

Lawton said that the use of ad blockers violates the platform's terms of service, and he emphasized the importance of ads in supporting the ecosystem of content creators around the world as well as providing content access to billions of people on YouTube.

YouTube has made several changes to the way ads operate on their platform this year. They introduced 30-second non-skippable ads on the TV app in May and started experimenting with longer but less frequent ad breaks on TV. 

This move may be an attempt to encourage more users to subscribe to the ad-free YouTube Premium, although the price hike and discontinuation of the cheaper Premium Lite plan may make this option less attractive.