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Many people have already gotten used to watching YouTube without ads in a “workaround” way. You turn on one plugin, make a few clicks, and that’s it, a video without “guess what happened to my skin after this cream” and Lovare tea. But it looks like this era is coming to an end.”
Firefox and Opera users report that no more videos play when ad blocker is enabled.
You just see a black screen and a message that “Ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service” or others with a similar meaning: either turn off the blocker or go to YouTube Premium. No options. Or maybe they do exist? Let’s take a closer look.
YouTube has started to actively block video viewing when AdBlock is enabled. At first it looked like a warning, but now it’s a real Great Wall of China. Owners of Opera and Firefox can no longer simply “reload the page” or click “continue at your own risk.”
When you open the video, you will see the following message:
“It looks like you are using an ad blocker. Video playback is blocked if YouTube is not in your allowed list or your ad blocker is not disabled…”
That is, either watch with ads or pay. In Chrome, the video is still playing, but many users notice that it starts slowly, freezes, and generally works somehow “not as it should.”
It’s not just checking extensions. YouTube analyzes the behavior of the page – for example, whether ad elements are loaded, whether there are requests to ad servers, how the DOM structure works.
Even if you hide extensions or use non-standard methods, the platform reads “abnormal” user and device behavior and suspects a “not clean” blocking.
Everything is literally boiling on Reddit and Twitter. Some people are already looking for workarounds, others are returning to Safari, where the blocking is not so aggressive.
Some people write:
“I’m ready to tolerate ads, but not two of the same kind per minute. This is already a mockery.”
Others add that YouTube is effectively forcing people to either pay or look for a gray alternative, like Invidious or video downloaders.
In recent days, Reddit and Twitter users have become more active on this issue, but in fact, the debate has been particularly active for over a year:
uBlock Origin, AdGuard, and other blocking apps are already aware of the situation. The developers recognize that it is difficult to circumvent the new methods: YouTube updates its scripts almost daily.”
They are testing new filters, but warn: “It’s going to be a battle of attrition.”
So, if you can’t watch YouTube videos, here’s what you can do:
This will allow viewing, but with ads.
A paid subscription removes ads and supports creators.
For example, Invidious is a lightweight, ad-free (but unstable) frontend to YouTube.
Some clients like NewPipe still work on Android.
It’s not ironic – YouTube ads don’t last forever, but they definitely get more persistent.
For Google, it’s obvious: advertising is the engine of YouTube. Without it, there is no additional monetization.
For users, it looks like coercion: either pay or suffer. Or look for loopholes.
And although the moral here is double, the fact remains that YouTube no longer ignores AdBlock, but openly fights it.