YouTube's Ad Blocker Crackdown Is Getting Harder to Dodge

L4sBot@lemmy.worldmod to Technology@lemmy.world – 351 points –
YouTube's Ad Blocker Crackdown Is Getting Harder to Dodge
gizmodo.com

YouTube's Ad Blocker Crackdown Is Getting Harder to Dodge::The video platform now requires users to disable their ad blockers with an immovable pop-up.

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The FBI does not recommend using adblockers so that you can avoid ads on YouTube. That's just πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ worthy.

Every adblocker I know of can be disabled on specific sites.

I know this is an unpopular opinion here, but Google is within their rights to show ads or make you pay. It costs more than it probably should, and they serve more ads than they should, but their platform is unique and expensive to run; most uploads do not make them money.

More like just get off my lawn. Constant bitching and moaning about completely optional services and spending a few dollars to use them is getting to me.

Yes, Lemmy is free, yes the Internet is historically free (because of ad driven content), but Christ things actually do cost money folks and services have a right to charge what people are willing to pay.

If you don't like it... Don't use YouTube, seek out an alternative, build an alternative, tell your creators you'll only watch them on PeerTube (which probably won't work because they want to make money) or floatplane or whatever.

This isn't some crusade for Google. I'm just sick of this crap being in my feed and all these comments. This isn't "technology", it's one service charging money πŸ™„

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That's not how I intended the phrasing here.

No one doubts Google is not entitled to money. The level of ads is excessive, and to be fair, we are served too many ads in our daily lives as-is, constantly, billboards, radio, Cable TV (to which you pay for the priviledge of watching ads), Gas Pumps, ect. It's everywhere and nauseating, and I'm starting to personally doubt the efficacy of them. People have become numb to them.

But they go on a crusade against Adblockers since the amount / type of ads is excessive, and then raise premium pricing : "The Solution".

It's almost like they have a monopoly and the moves as of recent are anti-consumer.

The FBI recommends an ad-blocker actually because of malicious.... Google Search, yes that same pesky Google, not filtering out dangerous websites in their search results under the "Suggested" part of the search (these sites spoof their web addresses and hope you click on them to deliver a malware payload on your system.)

Gas Pumps

That one drives me especially crazy. I just want to pump my gas in peace.

It's almost like they have a monopoly and the moves as of recent are anti-consumer.

I mean they do in a sense... But also complaining as a non-paying customer that you should have to pay is going to get you nowhere.

(Edit: I'm going to leave this part in, you were just asking for an alternative. My memory has blended other comments and a general "ugh" feeling in all these threads. So, this really isn't aimed at you)

If you really want to make a change, stop using YouTube, create content elsewhere, try and convince the creators you watch to upload elsewhere. The thing is, most creators that are big enough for the average person to be watching are doing it because it makes them money, and Google is the best place to get that check. You could try floatplane, but my guess is it's going to be more (not less) expensive than Google and/or might not have people you want to watch on it.

Google considered making 4k premium only because it's so expensive. Linus tech tips did a nice video showing how 4k disrupts YouTube's business model and imposes much higher costs. Instead of doing that, they're raising prices and blocking ads. A more altruistic Google could reduce the ads once the adblockers are working, I kinda doubt they will, but it's still a possibility.

The days of "free YouTube" (like so many other free Internet things) are over, it was a great deal. It's not as great of a deal now. Maybe someone can actually afford to put up a fight now that it's actually got to make money, maybe not. It's still (IMO) a pretty dang good deal for all the content you get, and premium helps support the creators you're watching (at least according to Linus) by a "significant" amount vs ad supported views.

The FBI recommends an ad-blocker actually because of malicious.... Google Search, yes that same pesky Google, not filtering out dangerous websites in their search results under the "Suggested" part of the search (these sites spoof their web addresses and hope you click on them to deliver a malware payload on your system.)

Yeah you're right on this one. I actually misremembered the reason, so I'll take the facepalm for myself. Still, I haven't used YouTube with ads in a while, but I remember YouTube ads being more like TV ads/a bit more reliable (and a bit too repetitive).

Fine but enforce some monopoly undercut pricing on YouTube.

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