YouTube's ‘War’ on Adblockers Shows How Google Controls the Internet
404media.co
Google's anti-ad scripts are breaking browsers and privacy plugins. It could get worse because Google controls the ad market, Chrome, and the extension store.
Google's anti-ad scripts are breaking browsers and privacy plugins. It could get worse because Google controls the ad market, Chrome, and the extension store.
Still having 0 problems on Firefox with just Ublock Origin and adguard. Hopefully it stays that way
Are you logged in? Cause if not you don't get these popups.
I haven't logged out since they started this push and I don't get them with just Firefox/uBlock. I was getting them for a bit and they even blocked me completely at one point. But I just cleared my uBlock cache and updated and it's been working fine.
Yes I am. I even got the pop-ups for a couple days a week ago, but I just closed the pop ups and resumed the videos with no ads
I got those popups while not even being logged in at some points, but just purging the cache on uBlock filters seems to work.
Having Ublock Origin doesn't guarantee success, read this: https://lemmy.world/comment/4933251
Same on OperaGX, zero issues with their Adblock+Ublock Origin.
Opera GX 🤢🤮
Use a proper browser like Firefox or preferably LibreWolf with a proper adblocker like uBlock Origin. LibreWolf even comes with uBO preinstalled. It also makes many other significant privacy security improvements compared to normal Firefox.
Literally say I have uBO on so lol chill. It works fine so I see no need to swap. Been using opera since before it went chromium and it’s been fine so no real need to swap. Haven’t run into issues with being told to use chrome/edge I’ve seen people post on here, haven’t run into issues with having to update uBO or anything for it to work with YouTube so I’m fine. Plus workspaces and CPU/Internet limiters are nice.
I do actually see a need for you to switch, Opera is one of the shadiest browsers owned by some weird Chinese company. It collects all of your data and sends it right to China, I wouldn't be comfortable using this, it's far worse than Chrome or even Edge. They also run really weird ads and marketing campaigns, just use Firefox or LibreWolf, the latter has uBlock Origin preinstalled and it's pre-configured for maximum privacy. I can only recommend it!
I mean I don't really care if China has my data. Rather them than a US company. Not much china's government can do about me (and not like I'm gonna be some high priority target for them so, whatever. If they wanted my data that bad they could just buy it from every American company anyways. )
Understandable though if you don't want china having your data. I just have mostly given up on caring about it. Someone is gonna have my data anyways.
Don't fund their army with your data dude. Switch to some Firefox fork ASAP.
Its not the point of China having your data. Its the point of opera sells that data, and they have it in the first place
Not everyone cares so much about that.
Someone knowing things about me in general is not a big deal.
The problem is that it is chromium based, hence giving Google more power in deciding internet standards (like their web environment integrity API proposed a few months ago)
Also having zero problems here paying for it.
Paying isn't a bad idea if you want to do that.
Google creeping on your privacy and your right to view HTML the way you choose to is gross and violating.
These two ideologies don't have much overlap, and definitely can coexist separately.
Honestly, I think it's great: if it annoys people enough, they will move out from Chrome and install Firefox (or one of its forks) with good extensions for blocking ads on YouTube. It seems to be the only solution to break the monopoly of Google on browsers. So go Google, I believe in you!
Nah, most people are dumb, they will just continue to complain and assume there is nothing they can do.
Yeah but even dumb people when annoyed enough will listen to alternatives. Specially when this one is so damn easy. It's not like editing config files or changing partitions, it's just using another damn browser.
Youre giving them too much credit. Most will just accept fate and deal with the ads.
Actually nevermind you're right. Dumb people never had an ad blocker on in the first place :D
Also there are people who continued to use IE before it got changed to Edge.
The key is "annoyed enough". I personally know many people who have never used adblockers and don't see why they're necessary.
And maybe more creators start using PeerTube as well...
It keeps breaking on FF too tho
Nope it doesn't. Mine works without any modifications but I heard that it happens occasionally. There are some easy steps to set up FF to work again, should be easy to look up.
I went through the instructions with the removing other extensions and resetting things and pasting filters etc. multiple times but it kept breaking, ended up switching to FreeTube. Maybe they've got it by now but I'm going to wait until it all shakes out more, too much hassle.
Plus if you read the article, you can't tell how it works overall just because it works for you, because YouTube is treating different groups of users differently here.
I had it pop up a couple times in Firefox, but it went away when I enabled the Annoyances filter in ublock settings. The videos just work now, no problem
The irony of this post being behind a paywall
This is a dumb take. Being behind a paywall means it's not controlled by Google and its ad network.
Are these webpages and people just supposed to work for free?
Is hosting YouTube infrastructure free?
I pay for YouTube and I think people need to stop complaining so much about ads if they're not willing to support the infrastructure or the creators they likely watch hours and hours of content from.
I also think Google is charging too much and should decouple music from videos, but that's another subject.
I also pay for YouTube. I just don't normally bring it up because it usually results in a lot of rather unpleasant replies.
It's fascinating, really.
Google gets a lot of hate for being a data collection behemoth. The whole "if you aren't paying, you are the product" thing. And rightfully so.
And pirates love to say that if companies would just charge a reasonable rate for an easy-to-use service, then they would just pay instead of pirating.
But when it comes to YouTube, a lot of people seem to want to have it both ways.
404 media in particular do great work. They're all defectors from Motherboard (vice) and I think supporting them is both worthwhile and worth it.
No pop-ups on NewPipe x Sponsorblock.
ublock origin works
NewPipe is a third party app, hence you don't get any popups. Doesn't mean YT can't do anything to stop you tho
Could they really do anything though? Newpipe directly scrapes the content, after all
My only issue with it is that it's slightly outdated, so I run BraveNewPipe: https://github.com/bravenewpipe/NewPipe/tree/v0.25.2-2.1.4
(It implements the same features while also adding support for some extra platforms)
It made me switch to Freetube
No problems on desktop with Firefox and uBlock Origins and no problem on my TVs with SmartTubeNext and no problems on mobile with Revanced so far. I have yet to encounter any ad blocking messaging or ads themselves.
I'll add that ReVanced and FireFox + UBlock are working fine for me still, still need to install STN tho
I even recently dropped my Premium sub (when they ditched Pixel Pass) so I was kinda expecting retaliation for bailing on em but nothing so far
Is revanced annoying to build? I've been putting it off for that reason since AFAIK there is no manager for it
https://github dot com/ReVanced/revanced-manager
It's easy enough. You'll need to grab an apk for YouTube so ReVanced Manager can modify and install it. That's about it.
There's a better one than revanced, it's called grayjay
I don't understand why people are calling grayjay a "better revanced" they have pretty different feature sets and solve different problems.
The only different thing about grayjay is the polycentric account instead of having your YouTube account other than that all the features are the same or even better. What is there not to understand.
Grayjay does not have sponsorblock. Grayjay does not sync my subscriptions across my other devices. Grayjay will not have YouTube features as they roll out. Etc.
Grayjay is basically newpipe (youtube scraper) + casting + centralized, unmoderated comments + other services.
YouTube Revanced is a patched, debloated version of YouTube itself.
Grayjay does a lot of cool stuff, but they are different tools for different problems. Youtube Revanced allows users to have a better Youtube experience on their phone without losing any functionality. Grayjay is asking users to change a lot about how they watch Youtube.
Nvm on building revanced! There is Revanced Manager, a couple clicks now to download and install, no need to use grayjay now.
It isn't better right now.... there is a subscription rate limit and a few other issues. Revanced is far more polished and reliable right now. Grayjay might mature into a better app in the future, but it is far from better right now. I'm subscribed to Rossman, so I tried it when he announced it on the channel... gave it a fair shake, but then uninstalled it. I'll check in on it every few months, but for YouTube specifically Revanced > grayjay.
So far a Firefox workaround seems to be copying the URL into a fresh private browser window.
It may not be enough to matter, but a not-insignificant number of users will simply abandon YouTube if this keeps up.
You can just purge the cache in uBlock Origin and update the filterlists, that will fix the issue too.
Having Ublock Origin doesn't guarantee success, read this: https://lemmy.world/comment/4933251
You're linking to one instance where it partially fixed the issue amidst a sea of people saying updating filters did work for them (or saying that they didn't have to do anything at all).
I’ve had no issues
Allready done. 😃 Some puts a YouTube link, I just scroll past. Can't be that important if it's on boobtube
Is…is boobtube a thing?
It sounds like it should be a thing
Modern day adaptation of a much older term.
Note: don't look up boobtube at work lol
Well well well, today I learned!
ROFL! I haven’t heard boobtube since the 70s! 😂
Trust me. I'm that old. 🤣
I regetfully disagree. I think very few people will leave the platform and that the additional revenue generated from those that use adblockers but allow YouTube ads will easily cover the difference of those that do.
I don't say this to discourage boycotting. Fuck google, do it if you want to!
Use noscript it's the best. You will have to learn what's useful while being real and what's fake but that's the best part. It disables YouTube's scripts for advertising.
Or just use uBlock Origin? It blocks YouTube's ads (and their adblocker-blockers) right out of the gate. It's also available on Firefox for Android.
For the moment, Youtube is managing to push ads onto me despite uBO.
Have you followed the instructions in the devs' Reddit thread? (At the bottom of the thread, they also have a section of instructions for people who've already gone through the process of purging their filters before.)
Also, make sure nothing else (ex. another adblocker, including your browser's built-in adblocker) is causing issues.
This is better than Adblock.
It's too much of a pain to use for me personally. I really don't want to spend time figuring out which scripts to enable every time I visit a new site. Adblock I can just turn on and forget with minimum effort.
I have never had to touch anything on uBlock origin. Well, before this youtube stuff when I sometimes have to manually update a block list when YT gets a new adblocker blocker
I never had to touch anything in uBlock Origin, not even once, I just have to remember to check for updates every now and then. I see some people saying sometimes they still get ads on youtube, not sure if it's youtube testing new targeting, but I've never seen ads on YT anyway, I guess I'm not interesting enough to them XD
I already use uBlock Origin. I haven't had any issues with it. I was replying to the person who said NoScript was better.
Download Firefox. Look up "ublock origin firefox" in search engine of choice. Click install. Done!
It's that easy....
I was replying to the comment saying that NoScript was better...I already use uBlock.
FreeTube works fantastic on desktop. No ads and instant playback and high quality. Amazing app.
I second this, I use freetube and I love it
Piped.video (on Firefox) works fine for me
Piped is so slow for me, I'm not sure if it's a me issue or a host issue. I finally spun up viewtube to test it out since running my own piped instance seemed cumbersome.
Same here. I tried loading the same 13-second video on Piped and YouTube. YouTube played it instantly. Piped took several seconds (probably longer than the video lasted) to start playing.
To be fair, Piped serves as a proxy, you're not getting the content served directly from YouTubes' servers
Yeah it works file for 720/1080p and no captions.
@JRepin, best combination is uBO + this one
https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/477725-youtube-iframe-adblocker