Looks like the era of ad-block hacks is finally over. YouTube is testing a new system that will stop you from watching videos if you are using an ad blocker.
Right now, there is no “official” method to avoid ads, unless you buy a YouTube Premium subscription. Or leech a password from your rich friend. Or still sneakily use your ex’s account.
But if you are browsing YouTube on a desktop browser (read: Chrome or Edge), there are some extensions that will block ads while watching videos. If you are one of those ad-hating people, this is what you might soon see flashing on your screen:
YouTube will first show you warnings to remove ad blocking tools. If you don’t change your online buccaneering ways after repeated requests, you will be blocked from watching videos. Or as they say these days, "FAFO, bitch!"
For now, YouTube is testing the warning system among a small subset of users. But if the current industry trend of insatiable capitalistic greed is anything to go by, it will soon expand to every single YouTube user on this dying planet.
Let me give an example to predict why this ad blocking system is inevitable. Until a few months ago, there were apps like YouTube Vanced that let you avoid ads and also enjoy all the exclusive features without paying for a Premium subscription.
Tired of losing ad opportunities, YouTube waved its magic code wand, and now, barely any ad-blocking YouTube apps exist in this solar system. Coming back to the under-development ad blocking test, looks like it will target repeat offenders.
“In extreme cases, where viewers continue their use of ad blockers, playback will be temporarily disabled. We take disabling playback very seriously,” a YouTube spokesperson told Bleeping Computer.