If you’ve been following our latest updates on YouTube’s efforts to block the ad blockers, you might already know that the platform has become pretty serious about it. This ad blocker crackdown started as a small experiment, but it soon got adopted on a global scale.
At this stage, you can’t watch content on YouTube if you’re using some of the popular ad-blocking solutions available. In other words, YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown has seen some success. According to reports from various developers offering ad blockers, most solutions saw a decline in user count.
But the opposite has also happened. A lot of the users who were using regular ad blockers to watch YouTube videos have turned to better ad blockers.
The Aftermath of YouTube Ad Blocker Crackdown
As mentioned earlier, hundreds of thousands of users uninstalled ad blockers from their devices last month. And the main reason behind this is YouTube’s broadened crackdown efforts. At the same time, data shows a record-breaking installation count for alternatives that the streaming platform hasn’t put on its list yet.
Among the popular options, there’s the Krzysztof Modras of Ghostery. It’s available in the Chrome extension store, and it has seen 3 to 5 times the amount of installs and uninstalls over October. Over 90% of the users who have uninstalled the ad blocker cited that it’s due to the extension failing to block YouTube ads.
But the same extension says a 30% increase in installations on Microsoft Edge. This hints that the users were looking for alternative browsers to continue having a free, ad-free experience on YouTube.
Another ad blocker named AdGuard said they see around 6000 uninstallations daily on Chrome. But the uninstallation count went up to 1100 per day between the second week of October and the end of the month. AdGuard said that the uninstallation count peaked at 52 thousand on October 18. It’s the time when YouTube started to put in place its ad-blocking efforts at full fledge.
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Interestingly, the premium version of the ad-blocking software is immune to YouTube’s efforts. AdGuard reports that the users realized it, and the company saw an increase in user count in the premium version. To be exact, the paid version reached 60 thousand installations between October 18 and October 27.
What About the Other Options?
At the moment, it seems that the ad blocker crackdown efforts have made users scramble to find better alternatives. Some users are even turning to solutions like Newpipe. It’s a YouTube-like platform that offers videos without any ads. And this isn’t something that wasn’t expected.
Experts within the industry have already warned YouTube on its efforts to stop ad blockers. For example, Modras said that this effort could result in more complex blocking tactics. And these complex tactics could lead to the creation of unintentional security loopholes.
But if you’re looking for alternatives, Origin on Firefox still works on YouTube. Adblock Plus has also come up with a solution that can get past the anti-ad block wall of the platform.
If you don’t want to use ad block, it’s better to get a YouTube Premium subscription. It doesn’t only offer an ad-free experience. Also, you get offline download support, a better streaming experience, and lots of convenient features. More importantly, with the subscription, you’re helping the platform and the creators to make your experience better.
Personally speaking, YouTube can make it easier for users to get a subscription by lowering the price a little. But judging by the past announcements that the platform has made, that’s unlikely to happen. We will get you updated when there’s more report on this matter.
