A free ad-free experience on YouTube might be going out the window. Some choose to watch Premium to avoid ads, most choose to use ad blockers.
But YouTube is tired of that and is cracking down on ad blockers on the platform. Users have reported seeing a pop-up in their browser when accessing YouTube that reads:
“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,” with a button to either turn off your ad blockers or “Try YouTube Premium”.
So, it’s the same message you get whenever accessing an article from a journalistic source.
Despite the reports, YouTube is saying that this isn’t a wide issue yet and that they are experimenting but considering it’s the same business practice as countless publications, like The New York Times and The Guardian, we can see it keeping going.
Frustrating for users, good news for marketers, who are going to get their content in front of eyes if they don’t opt for a subscription.
However, as Social Media Today points out: “Some developer somewhere will think of a way around this, and it won’t be long before there’s a way to subvert this new process. But it points to a new shift in approach from YouTube’s parent company Google in more aggressively combating ad blockers in its apps.
