YouTube is stepping up its fight against ad blockers

YouTube strengthened its strategy prevent users from using ad blockers while browsing the platform. After conducting several experiments in the middle of the year, the company started showing more warnings those accessing using uBlock Origin or any other ad-free extension. The same can be said for browsers like Brave, which have blockers built into their software.

Reportedly Android AuthorityYouTube video player frozen until the user disables the ad blocker. The reaction was not long in coming, and a significant number of users spoke out against this measure. The YouTube subreddit is full of complaints and warnings that you won’t pay for your subscription. bonus.

With this in mind, YouTube PR Manager Christopher Lawton confirmed Edge What the platform has made massive efforts to combat ad blockers. Lawton said the idea is to encourage users to allow ads or try YouTube Premium. The manager stated that These blockers violate the Terms of Use. and added that advertising allows billions of people to access their favorite content.

While YouTube has made it clear that it will launch a crusade against ad blockers, the first few months have been designed for experimentation. In some countries, the platform issued warnings and enforced a three-strike policy before banning a player. At the beginning of October technology expanded the strategy to more countries and defined a system with four stages of detection.

Here’s how YouTube reacts if you use an ad blocker

A post posted on the uBlock Origin subreddit details the procedure YouTube follows when using the ad blocker. He The detection system is divided into four stages in which the user is shown a warning and asked to allow advertising. Depending on your level, the actions you can perform will be

• Stage 1 is simply a pop-up window that can be closed by clicking outside of it.
• Stage 2 is similar, but the close button takes a few seconds to activate.
• Stage 3 is more aggressive and only allows you to open three videos before locking the player (three hits).
• Stage 4 replaces the video with a warning that ad blockers are not allowed. The player will be unlocked as soon as you disable the extension, whitelist YouTube, or subscribe to YouTube Premium.

It’s important to note that These stages vary depending on the country.. In Mexico, YouTube activated the second phase two weeks ago and maintained it for several days. In the US, many users are already at stage 4 and will not be able to access the video unless they disable their ad blocker.

According to uBlock Origin, YouTube changes its detection scripts twice a day, and there’s no way around it.. The only solution is to manually update the filters every 12 hours and disable any other ad blocking extensions. The process can be complicated for those without experience and doesn’t work if you want to remain logged in to the platform.

The good news is that extensions are constantly updated and the community creates guides to avoid ads. If you don’t want to pay for YouTube Premium, the solution is to follow uBlock Origin’s progress on its subreddit.