I'm sure many of you are already aware that YouTube has been rolling out anti-adblock detection for Chrome users for a few weeks now.
Today, as a long time Firefox user with the fantastic uBlock Origin extension installed, I got my first anti-adblock popup on the platform. Note that this may not happen to you personally for a while, but it is inevitably coming for everyone.
Thankfully, the fine folks at uBlock Origin have already advised a simple workaround (on Reddit, yuck!) which I will duplicate in a simplified form below for your convenience. I have tested it on Firefox and it is working fine for me (so far).
PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS POST.
Update uBO to the latest version (1.52.0+) . <== The extension itself, for technical improvements. You do this in your browser.
Remove your custom config / reset to defaults. <== This means removing your custom filters (or disabling My filters) and disabling ALL additional lists you've enabled. It might be quicker to make a backup of your config and restore to defaults instead.
Force an update of your Filter Lists. <== This is within the extension. Lists are what determine what's blocked or not. How to update Filter lists: Click 🛡️ uBO's icon > the ⚙ Dashboard button > the Filter lists pane > the 🕘 Purge all caches button > the 🔃 Update now button.
Disable all other extensions AND your browser's built-in blockers. <== No need to uninstall, just disable them. They might interfere with our solutions.
Make sure you follow all 4 points above. If you're seeing the message, it's likely due to your custom config (either additional lists or separate filters in My filters).
Restarting your browser afterwards may help too.
Once you've gotten rid of the issue on default settings, you can slowly start restoring your config (if you really need it). Do it gradually, to easier find out what was causing the issue in the first place. Once you find the culprit, simply skip it in your config.
If you want to use Enhancer for YouTube*, you have to* disable its adblocking*.*
May the ~~force~~ uBlock Origin be with you!
Update
Just wanted to mention a few things that have been pointed out in the comments:
- There are quite a few projects that provide an alternative ad-free front end to YouTube. These include Invidious, FreeTube, LibreTube, Newpipe, Revanced, and I'm sure there are several more options I've missed. I don't have any particular preference really but I routinely use NewPipe on my cellphone just because I tried it once and couldn't be bothered trying all the others.
- In step 4 listed above, to clarify, afaik you only need to remove adblocker extensions (if you have more than one installed) that might conflict with the uBlock Origin rules and trigger the anti-adblock, not all extensions.
- If you hate non-stop ads but want to support your favorite content creators then be sure to give them some love on Patreon or whatever alternative options they provide. Creators typically make only a tiny, tiny fraction of what YouTube makes in ad revenue, assuming YouTube doesn't just outright steal the lot, and it's a shitty business model that's ruining the internet. Even if you watch the ads, you're only supporting YouTube most of the time, not the creators.
Honest question. What is the consensus for how services like YouTube should be funded?
They have a paid method in place.
YouTube Premium.
Free access you pay with ads.
All of us cheapskates have been using adblock or YouTube vanced to get the service completely free.
I'm not going to curse them for making efforts to stop us leaching their service for free.
The problem with this is that Alphabet already collects and sells your usage data. When you use any of Alphabet's "free services" you are the product. What they're doing is double dipping. Not only that, but they're getting very intrusive with the ads.
I can remember a time not long ago when the only ads on the platform were in the form of banner ads placed in the bottom of the video and off to the side next to recommended. There were no ads in the player. If they went back to that, I would not mind disabling my ad blocker.
What are they gonna do with your user data, if they're not gonna get to serve you any ads, though?
Not defending them in any way, fuck ads, and fuck user data collection
This is very true. They sell your data to their advertising partners. That's what it's for.
YouTube is trying to maximize profits. Doesn't mean we should let them.
Who cares? If they can't run a service providing what people want. They disappear. The world won't fall apart without a website that hosts videos. We'll move on.
In the meantime don't let them try to get away with maximizing profit at your expense.
Your best investment at this stage is support your local software developers and pirates working against the huge megacorp that gives zero fucks about what you think.
If they want ads then fine, however for them to be acceptable there needs to be massive changes to how they are served. First curate them. Ads are a security risk and speaking from experience I can tell you it absolutely does happen even on popular sites. I got a nasty one once on an old XP machine I didn't really care about once from opening Spotify. So it's not just shady sites. Even Blizzard had a malware infected ad on their forums years ago.
Second, stop being so aggressive with them. I don't need a product ad forcibly shoved down my throat. If they want a banner on the side showing something then fine as long as it's not a bloated mess of JavaScript or before it was canned, flash. And ads should not be taking up 40% of the page and causing it to load 3 times slower.
Third, advertisers need to stop harvesting my data for their financial gain. If they're going to sell my personal life then I deserve the majority of whatever they made off me. But they didn't ask permission nor do they share so fuck them. I'll do whatever I can do they get as little from me as they can. Advertisers are leeches and honestly should just be removed all together. I've never purchased anything because of an ad and there are several products and companies I refuse to support because their ads were so obnoxious to try and get my attention. If a product is good enough word of mouth will be plenty. It seems like most of the time the more annoying and more often I see it the shittier the product or service being sold is. And if they can waste that much cash on ads then then they should pay employees more instead.