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PSA To people watching YouTube with AdBlockers (lemm.ee)

submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

230 comments fedilink hide all child comments

You might have noticed that even on Firefox (depending on your lists) YouTube may detect uBlock Origin on Firefox now

There's already a workaround (found, again, here), but I figured I would use this opportunity to tell people that projects like Piped and Invidious exist, which both allow you to watch YouTube without loading their ads, with improved Privacy and (in the case of Piped) even Geoblocking-Circumvention and SponsorBlock out of the box.

They're both great tools, and using something like LibRedirect you can even automatically go to Piped or Invidious when clicking/opening a YouTube link (and more).

Both don't load ads, but unless changed in the settings Individous may still make connections to Google/YouTube to load the video(s) themselves.

Bit of a shameless plug for these projects, but I figured this is a really good time to show these projects as I often see people asking what they are in threads on here

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Has Google considered making their advertising engine better? Allow us to skip every ad. Allow us to block all those fucking cryptocurrency scam ads. Forcing me to watch an ad for a company that I'm not interested in guarantees that I will hate that company and never buy their product even if I need it. I will go out of my way to buy something from a company that hasn't tried to ram their advertisements down my throat. If ads weren't so fucking terrible I might agree to watch them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Or in my country: most ads are in only one of the main official languages but not the one in my region so it's wasteful for them.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Thank you, this is an exact point I was making earlier today in a different conversation.

Google has two decades of information about me. Just as one random example, I'm hooked into their mapping app so they know everywhere I go and on what schedule, and can infer what I buy.

Not once in 20 years has Google advertised something to me that is in line with my interests and needs. Google knows I go to the cigar store every Monday to replenish my supply, and they've never suggested to me a product or service that can save me time, money, or make it more convenient.

Google's ad system seems to shove garbage products in my face like black label shit from China (raycon, manscaped, etc) and products/companies that do not operate in my region.

How hard is it to know everything about a person, and still fail to advertise one single thing that is useful to them over decades??!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While you're right that Google isn't very good at targeting ads, I don't think more accurate ads is what we want.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

It's what I want.

I worked for years in tech, and adjacent to marketers and sales people.

I know from direct experience that people want relevant advertisements for things that will solve a problem in their lives.

Going back to my example, I would very much appreciate an advertisement for a cigar store that will either give me a discount, introduce a new product to me, or deliver my product on my schedule.

I also make and buy mechanical toys, and I've had an interest in them for decades. I would really appreciate an ad that highlights a new collection of mechanical puzzles.

But instead I get badgered by Google ads for things that are nuisances and of no relevance to my life.

Instead of sharpening service for the professional barber clippers I own, because Google knows I cut my own hair, I get advertisements for Manscaped.

I steadfastly maintain there is an opportunity to advertise to people in a helpful way, but Google doesn't do it.