YouTube has warned that users may experience problems when trying to watch YouTube videos using standalone apps with ad blockers. Among the difficulties are loading errors and warning messages.
The information is contained in a publication made on Monday (15). “We’re tightening our enforcement of third-party apps that violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, specifically those that block ads,” it said.
“We want to emphasize that our terms do not allow third-party apps to turn off ads, because this prevents the creator from being rewarded by the audience,” the company continues. “Ads on YouTube help support creators and enable billions of people around the world to use the streaming service.”
For those who don’t want to see advertising, the platform recommends YouTube Premium, which costs R$ 24.90 per month or R$ 249 per year.
YouTube Has Started Crusade Against Adblockers
The new rules against third-party apps are the latest chapter in YouTube’s crackdown on ad blockers.
In July 2023, YouTube began showing a message to those who use such tools, saying that only three videos would be released. After that, the player would be unavailable. In November, this went into effect worldwide, for all users.
Apparently, it worked. Within days of the blanket ban, AdGuard saw daily uninstalls jump from 6,000 to 52,000. Ghostery, on the other hand, saw a three- to five-fold increase in uninstall and reinstall flow, suggesting that users were trying to get the tool to work somehow.
Some people are turning to other browsers to block YouTube ads. One of them is Brave. The company bought into the fight and said it will continue to support tools of this type, no matter how much Google is against it.