Do you remember several years ago when it became trendy for websites to detect adblockers and make you disable them? Well, it looks like that’s coming to YouTube.
According to Redditor Reddit_n_Me, YouTube now issues a popup to people using an adblocker on YouTube that informs them they can only watch three videos while blocking ads. It then gives you the option to allow ads or try YouTube Premium, which gives you an ad-free experience for a monthly fee.
Neowin already reported on the fact that YouTube was trialling a popup to stop adblockers but it seems that the latest iteration of the blocker is more lenient and allow you to watch three videos before you're made to turn off the adblocker.
In the popup shown to users, it reads:
- It looks like you may be using an ad blocker. Video playback will be blocked unless YouTube is allowlisted or the ad blocker is disabled.
- Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide.
- You can go ad-free with YouTube Premium, and creators still get paid from your subscription.
According to the Reddit user, he was using Adblock with Chrome when the notification popped up. It’s not clear whether all adblocking software will cause the popup to trigger or just some of them.
The popup has been confirmed by YouTube to BleepingComputers. The company said that it was running a small experiment globally that urges YouTubers to allow ads or try YouTube Premium - if you haven’t seen the popup but use an adblocker, it probably just means you’re not included in the trial.
YouTube Premium is not exactly the cheapest option around, coming in at $11.99/£11.99/CAD $11.99/AU $14.99 per month. YouTube Premium is also not available everywhere in the world so some people would be forced into watching ads.
We’ll have to wait and see if the notification becomes a permanent fixture but for now, it’s limited to just a select group of users.
Let us know in the comments if you have seen this popup and which browsers and adblocker combo you use.
As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support!
Source and Image: Reddit_n_Me (Reddit) via BleepingComputer
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