Photo by whereslugo on Unsplash
After years and years of not worrying about ad blockers, YouTube he seems finally determined to declare war on them. According to collect 9to5Googlethe platform will prevent video playback in its web version when it detects the presence of extensions such as AdBlock, or similar, in the browser.
The measure has taken those who have come across a banner warning about this blockade by surprise. From what can be seen in the images, those affected by this new determination have two options to continue using the site: disable ad blocker on YouTube or subscribe to YouTube Premium.
“Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube,” says the box that has begun to appear on the platform. The message also indicates that the advertisements allow the service to remain free to access for billions of users around the world. While, in addition, it invites you to subscribe to the Premium variant to avoid commercials and still help monetize content creators.
Although YouTube has not made public comments on the matter, an employee of the company confirmed to the r/YouTube subreddit They have started testing this feature. Nevertheless, He assured that for now it is only an experiment.
As an experimental feature, the ad blocker ban is likely affecting a small number of YouTube users. At least for now. However, the issue could change (and escalate) quickly if the video platform decides to incorporate it as part of its final product.
YouTube would stop turning a blind eye to ad blockers
For now, there will be no choice but to wait. These experiments can be carried out over several weeks before defining whether to discard them or continue with their development and implementation. It is more than clear, however, that it is a determination that reopens an old controversy over the use of online advertisements.
For those who consume large amounts of content on YouTube on a daily basis, subscribing to Premium is a one-way route. However, it is likely that the most occasional user of the platform understands that paying for the subscription is not worth it.. In Spain, the individual plan costs 11.99 euros per month, while the family plan is 17.99 euros per month. In other countries—the United States, for example—the family subscription is even more expensive, and today it stands at $22.99.
While YouTube Premium boasts downloads, background playback, and the inclusion of Music Premium in the package, its biggest feature is the absence of in-video ads. And if you don’t consume hours and hours of material on a daily basis, paying that amount of money per month just to remove ads is not something that everyone is willing to accept.
To this is added that YouTube has drastically increased the number of commercials it shows before, during and after content playback. Which has pushed many to ad blockers, extensions whose use has fueled heated debate for many years.
What will this story be? Will this be the end of YouTube ad blockers? Will the platform be able to incentivize new subscriptions to Premium? Or will it all end in nothing? For now, these are questions that have no answer. but we will be attentive to the news.
Also in Hypertext:
Technological and scientific news in 2 minutes
Receive our newsletter every morning in your email. A guide to understand in two minutes the keys to what is really important in relation to technology, science and digital culture.
Processing…
Ready! you are already subscribed
