I'm sure many of you are already aware that YouTube has been rolling out anti-adblock detection for Chrome users for a few weeks now.
Today, as a long time Firefox user with the fantastic uBlock Origin extension installed, I got my first anti-adblock popup on the platform. Note that this may not happen to you personally for a while, but it is inevitably coming for everyone.
Thankfully, the fine folks at uBlock Origin have already advised a simple workaround (on Reddit, yuck!) which I will duplicate in a simplified form below for your convenience. I have tested it on Firefox and it is working fine for me (so far).
PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS POST.
Update uBO to the latest version (1.52.0+) . <== The extension itself, for technical improvements. You do this in your browser.
Remove your custom config / reset to defaults. <== This means removing your custom filters (or disabling My filters) and disabling ALL additional lists you've enabled. It might be quicker to make a backup of your config and restore to defaults instead.
Force an update of your Filter Lists. <== This is within the extension. Lists are what determine what's blocked or not. How to update Filter lists: Click 🛡️ uBO's icon > the ⚙ Dashboard button > the Filter lists pane > the 🕘 Purge all caches button > the 🔃 Update now button.
Disable all other extensions AND your browser's built-in blockers. <== No need to uninstall, just disable them. They might interfere with our solutions.
Make sure you follow all 4 points above. If you're seeing the message, it's likely due to your custom config (either additional lists or separate filters in My filters).
Restarting your browser afterwards may help too.
Once you've gotten rid of the issue on default settings, you can slowly start restoring your config (if you really need it). Do it gradually, to easier find out what was causing the issue in the first place. Once you find the culprit, simply skip it in your config.
If you want to use Enhancer for YouTube*, you have to* disable its adblocking*.*
May the ~~force~~ uBlock Origin be with you!
Update
Just wanted to mention a few things that have been pointed out in the comments:
- There are quite a few projects that provide an alternative ad-free front end to YouTube. These include Invidious, FreeTube, LibreTube, Newpipe, Revanced, and I'm sure there are several more options I've missed. I don't have any particular preference really but I routinely use NewPipe on my cellphone just because I tried it once and couldn't be bothered trying all the others.
- In step 4 listed above, to clarify, afaik you only need to remove adblocker extensions (if you have more than one installed) that might conflict with the uBlock Origin rules and trigger the anti-adblock, not all extensions.
- If you hate non-stop ads but want to support your favorite content creators then be sure to give them some love on Patreon or whatever alternative options they provide. Creators typically make only a tiny, tiny fraction of what YouTube makes in ad revenue, assuming YouTube doesn't just outright steal the lot, and it's a shitty business model that's ruining the internet. Even if you watch the ads, you're only supporting YouTube most of the time, not the creators.
So, Youtube's dying.
Maybe not right now. Maybe not next year. But they've decided to make everybody miserable, for a "business" that still won't cause enough misery to turn a profit.
Meanwhile creators are censored worse than broadcast TV. Nevermind the effective ban on swearing - they can't even reference concepts without a surveillance program declaring that their latest video doesn't count, even though they'll still slap ads all over that bitch.
Those people have things they want to share with an audience that wants to see. Any middleman can either help, or become irrelevant. Bandwidth is cheap. Some creators are just in it for the money... but the money is bad, on Youtube, and it's getting worse. Patreon is more direct and far less stupid. As with all these lumbering ruins of 2010s internet media, the network effect of being the default will keep them relevant for a while, no matter what they do. Twitter's on fire and it's still not dead. But its prospects sure aren't getting better... and not because people changed.
People are sadly predictable. These idiot robots exploit that masterfully, to a point, and then act bewildered when more pressure stops making more money. Like they forgot we can just leave.
Like legit, some of these comments are utterly deranged. YouTube has ZERO competition in the mass market consumer space, everyone else is a niche player, and it's debatable whether YouTube even turns a profit despite that.
Revenue, sure - I don't believe Google shares profit numbers for Youtube separately to the rest of the portfolio. I could be misinformed though.
Again, revenue. They report revenue because it's a nice big number, but it's different to profit (which is why a lot of people suspect they don't make much actual money, if any).
99% of former Facebook users didn't block ads - but they still left. They found other shit to do. People who've somehow never blocked ads still complain about ads. They still recognize how advertising shapes the things they like, and they hate it.
Nobody enjoys being interrupted with repetitive corporate bullshit. Nobody's thrilled when three-minute videos get dragged out to ten minutes and one second, or when punchy edited conversations sprawl into rambling podcasts, or when recipes start with the chef's life story. They don't need to know why these things happen, to know they don't care.
Even if, god help us, Youtube remains the video-hosting site - spacing out to hours of passive content does not have to be how people spend their time.
And they don’t even censor the right people. They have these algorithms that keep on recommending videos designed to teach preteens that it’s “based” to:
Which then ends with them joining and donating family funds that aren’t theirs to Andrew Tate’s little incel cult, blasting the soviet anthem on the bus and then getting mad when nobody laughs and/or with gay kids bullied to the point of suicide.