YouTube is limiting video views for ad-block users

[midian182]

A hot potato: YouTube is once again conducting an experiment that targets anyone using an ad blocker. Like before, users are warned that they should turn off their blocking software. This time, however, there's a punishment for not complying: being limited to just three video views.

A Redditor spotted the YouTube warning a couple of days ago and posted the pop-up message. It states in bold letters that "Video player will be blocked after 3 videos," followed by an explanation that YouTube playback will be blocked unless the site is whitelisted or the ad blocked disabled.

The message also notes that ads help YouTube stay free for billions of users worldwide. It suggests going ad-free by subscribing to YouTube Premium, and it includes "Allow YouTube Ads" and "Try YouTube Premium" buttons. YouTube Premium costs $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year for access to original programs and no ads.

YouTube's move doesn't come as a surprise. In May, the platform ran another experiment in which a pop-up was shown to ad-blocker users. The only difference was that it didn't warn people about being limited to three videos; you could simply close the message a carry on using the blocker. There was speculation at the time that YouTube would introduce a deterrent.

YouTube has confirmed that the pop-ups are part of an experiment – so not everyone will see them – urging users to either allow ads when viewing videos or subscribe to YouTube Premium. The company said playback would be disabled in "extreme cases," I.e., when someone ignores repeated requests to disable their ad-blocking software.

YouTube brought in $29.2 billion from ad revenue in 2022 – an increase from the $28.8 billion it generated the year before – making up over 11% of Google's annual revenue. However, the $7.96 billion that came from ads in the fourth quarter of 2022 was down almost 8% year-on-year as the entire online advertising industry slumped, likely prompting the current experiment. Google will also be hoping to push more people onto YouTube Premium, of course.

There was another trial earlier this year that restricted YouTube's 4K content to Premium subscribers, and the platform now offers a higher bitrate "1080p Premium" option to subs.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/99254-youtube-limiting-video-views-ad-blocker-users.html

 

[DSirius]

This is the smartest move I have ever seen from YouTube-Google-Alphabet greedy corporation.
TikTok viewers will skyrocket faster than US senate can ban them.
By by Youtube, your greed just buried you down.

 

[b1k3rdude]

@ $119.99 pa alphabet are f**king delusional, thats more than double what netflix/prime costs. I watch a handfull of channels on YT and none of them are anywhere near the same production values. If it was a choice of netflix or Yt, it would be byebye yt.

If YTR was something like $20-30 per year I might consider it. But when corps like this are already making $30b pa, I have zero f**ks to give.

 

[Shear]

Thank you! It's so easy to lose mad amounts of time on youtube so it's nice to see they care about their users and limit the viewing time themselves.

 

[bviktor]

I WOULD subscribe, IF they weren't restricting premium to a single household. I have a family of 4, and we live in 3 different houses.

Change that stupid rule, and I'll gladly obey.

 

[srki9]

I would rather not watch YouTube then subscribe or disable adblock. As if people won't eventually figure out how to bypass that as well.

 

[dangh]

I had to subscribe to reduce my kid exposure to stupid adds. But we strongly need a competitors in this area. Which obviously is not possible as Google will kill anything which would like to get into their monopoly. another example on how consolidation and unification is bad for consumers - they were telling us YT will be free, now after years of feeding bs it is harvest time. Big corpos should be split or we are going to wake up at some stage in a very bad place...

 

[cristianm]

The number of advertisements on YouTube is overwhelming. Perhaps, once they compel us to disable adblockers, they might attempt to readjust the volume of ads shown, although I have doubts about it. Nevertheless, it is their business, and considering the substantial amount of money they earn, I assume they are aware of what they are doing. If it starts affecting their profits, they will likely reconsider their policies. The truth is, when a user with adblocker watches a video, it only costs YouTube, so I understand that there must be some benefit for them.

 

[yRaz]

I'd pay, at most, $30/yr for youtube premium. Realistically, the reason I have an adblocker on youtube is that they're showing too many ads.

 

[MarkHughes]

>Either disable it, whitelist, or subscribe to YouTube Premium

or don't use Youtube... That's always an option.

 

[DukeJukem]

I'll pay you after you pay me for all the data you've farmed and sold bud. no one cares about you only making nearly 8 billion at the end of 2022. go cry on your yacht rich boy.

 

[captaincranky]

Well, I use Opera which, (as most of you should know), is a Chrome based browser. It comes stock w/ad blocking enabled. (As so does Chrome, (allegedly), I've never tried it.

However, the YouTube ads are brutal and overwhelming on Firefox. I actually copy and paste links from FF to Opera, because video is intolerable on FF with the constant barrage of ads. You can't even maintain continuity of interest there's so many ads.
I haven't gotten any type of notification or warnings <yet> with Opera.

Who knows what the future will hold.

 

[wiyosaya]

Reached your thee-video limit? Clear your You Tube cookies and domain data, close your browser, and reopen it. Problem solved.

 

[b1k3rdude]

Reached your thee-video limit? Clear your You Tube cookies and domain data, close your browser, and reopen it. Problem solved.

This might explain the issue I have been having watching videow on my non-yt app on android. Its either plays noprobs, or it stuck on buffering after 4s.

 

[m4a4]

Easy to bypass on PC. If anything, I already have a setup where I can do so (I can pick which channels allow ads, and I control how long/many ads show), unless they go really hardcore (which will just push away a lot of people).

 

[kira setsu]

Youtube is unwatchable without an adblocker.

to them an "ad" can be a f**kin hour long.

add in that the creators themselves burn alot of video time shilling for stuff too and its just not fun to watch. I hope youtube goes away honestly.

 

[Mark Fuller]

I got so fed up with ads, I did subscribe to youtube premium. There's not much difference in paying for an ad blocker though. But if they restrict users of ad blockers to 3 video's, it will be back to square one for them and if you have to clear cookies and restart that's a time consuming problem in itself. This is why I use Nero software to burn my own dvds. You don't have streaming interference problems with dvds or ads to deal with. You can also download the videos to your hdd and play them back with vlc or windows media player, etc. But the free downloader software is limited to one video at a time and has no conversion process you can use to change the file type for another media platform like a dvd player, which means to do any serious downloading for a lot of videos you just about have to subscribe to the pro version of their downloader which is another 4.99 per month or something like 50 dollars per year.

 

[GeforcerFX]

Well luckily most of the channels I like to watch are on nebula which is like $20-30 a year bundled with curiosity stream. Only streaming service I pay for.

 

[Draconian]

I used to use an adblocker on Youtube, but then I realized I was causing my favorite channels to lose out on revenue, so I felt guilty and bought a Youtube Premium subscription in February. Now I don't have to see ads plus my favorite channels get a small amount of revenue from my subscription. Win-win situation.

 

[axiomatic13]

Just tested it. Pihole + UBlock Origin whitelisted youtube nets no complaints and no commercials.

 

[Underdog]

I don't recall ever being pestered by ads on YT. Maybe because the browsers I use all have several adblockers installed.................or because I don't spend all my spare time watching YT. There is life away from the monitor after all. Some of it is very engaging and never has annoying ads.

 

[captaincranky]

Some of it is very engaging and never has annoying ads.

That's the thing, a content creator doesn't have "the privilege", of having their channel monetized, until their channel passes a certain number of subscribers.

So does YouTube plan on chopping these feeds up and inserting ads on their own?

 

[AbbyNormal]

So let me get this straight:
1. They make money by selling every bit of info on you they scrub from anyone using their APIs on their websites
2. Want to charge you out the nose to watch anything on Youtube to avoid ads
3. Still tracks your usage of YouTube for financial gain
4. Still sells your tracked data from 3rd party websites utilizing your API even if you are paying a Youtube subscription
5. Runs the other mobile storefront in the duopoly of app stores
6. Still tracks you even if you have bought enough from them to have Platinum on your Play account
7. Still sells your data in a storefront that makes the worst of cashback cards green with envy
8. Subscribe to Youtube and reach platinum on your Play account, and their utter disdain with your privacy will still compel them to sell any morsel of tracking data they have on you.

See all of that, and still wonder why people see no benefit for supporting your sick demented selves. Even after France fines them for tracking cookies 3 years ago, and again in a case brought forth by 40 US states with a settlement for $392m not even a year ago yet, and yet they still do it anyway. All I see is that the wrong people paid money to ride a submarine.

I'd see benefit and value in being left alone. That would be fantastic.

 

[Snowy]

Well, I use Opera which, (as most of you should know), is a Chrome based browser. It comes stock w/ad blocking enabled. (As so does Chrome, (allegedly), I've never tried it.

However, the YouTube ads are brutal and overwhelming on Firefox. I actually copy and paste links from FF to Opera, because video is intolerable on FF with the constant barrage of ads. You can't even maintain continuity of interest there's so many ads.
I haven't gotten any type of notification or warnings <yet> with Opera.

Who knows what the future will hold.

Get uBlock Origin extension for FF and you will never see ads again

 

[lripplinger]

Going to keep using Ublock and Malwarebytes Browser Guard. If Google doesn't like it. tough crap. How is their business if you use an adblock plugin, and how is it legal for them to tell you to not use one?