YouTube is cracking down on users who are determined to avoid its ads, and has given some of them an ultimatum: turn off your adblocker or subscribe to YouTube Premium. Users who block ads and do not select any of these options will not be able to watch a video on YouTube. The move is part of a limited global test the company is conducting to ensure advertisers continue to get the most views for their money, the Bleeping Computer website reports.
Alphabet, the parent company of YouTube, said the popular video streaming service posted its third straight quarterly decline in ad revenue in late April, citing a volatile digital ad market and broader economic uncertainty.
YouTube’s measures against adblockers were spotted by Reddit users earlier this week who were shown a pop-up saying “Adblockers are not allowed on YouTube” when they tried to watch a video.
It looks like you may be using an ad blocker,” the pop-up message says, according to a screenshot shared on r/YouTube. “Ads keep YouTube free for billions of users worldwide. You can avoid seeing ads by subscribing to YouTube Premium and creators can still get paid by your subscription.” Users are then given the option to disable adblockers or subscribe to YouTube Premium, which costs €8.49 per month.
The YouTube Premium subscription allows subscribers to watch YouTube without ads, play videos in the background while using other apps on their smartphone or tablet, allows offline downloads and provides unlimited access to YouTube Music. A YouTube spokesperson told Bleeping Computer that the pop-up was genuine and part of a “small experiment.
We’re running a small experiment globally that prompts viewers with adblockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium,” the spokesperson said. “Detecting adblockers is nothing new and other publishers regularly ask users to disable these apps.
Users on Twitter were predictably furious about the adblocker trials, with the term “adblock” being one of the top topics of the past week. “Stop shoving ads down my throat and I might stop using Adblocker. How is it so hard for websites to figure this out?”
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