YouTube is striking back against the ad blockers by throwing a little blocker in of its own. Touché!
Some browser users with ad blockers installed have reported seeing notifications from the Google-owned video platform asking them to whitelist the site.
If they don’t? Well there’ll be no video viewing for them.
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As is often the case, it’s Reddit users who’re bringing this to life. Some users have spied the pop-up reading: “Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube.”
The message continues: “It looks like you may be using an ad blocker. Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide. You can go ad-free with YouTube Premium, and creators can still get paid from your subscription.”
The company offers users the opportunity to get rid of pre-roll and mid-roll advertisements by signing up to YouTube Premium. That also offers access to offline downloads, background listening and access to YouTube Music for £11.99 a month.
However, using ad blockers has been a way around paying the subs and, as this is the internet, quite a few people have been taking that avenue.
As for whether this will become a permanent fixture, right now Google says it’s a test, or, in its words, it’s a “small experiment.”
The company told Bleeping Computer: “We’re running a small experiment globally that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium. Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
