YouTube is delaying video playback for ad blocker users to push premium tiers
YouTube is reportedly introducing intentional playback delays for users with ad blockers, displaying black screens for durations matching typical pre-roll ads. This means that even if ads are technically blocked, viewers are still forced to wait before their selected videos begin. During the imposed waiting period, users see a pop-up on the player saying “Experiencing interruptions? Find out why,” which leads to a Google support page that encourages disabling ad-blocking software.
Unlike YouTube’s prior tactics—which centered on warnings or outright preventing users with ad blockers from watching content, this move allows access but mimics the unwanted delay of advertisements. The change is reported to specifically target accounts previously flagged for using ad blockers, increasing the difficulty for browser extensions to evade detection.
Across Reddit and Brave browser forums, users are confirming that both black screens and delays occur regardless of which ad blocker is employed. PCWorld’s verification with uBlock Origin Lite shows that the restriction is not limited to a single solution, while Brave’s integrated ad-blocking is also unable to circumvent the new barriers.
Comments
You know a subscription model is flawed when platforms make their own services worse on purpose in a ploy to get you to pay money for said service.
I can't wait to upgrade to Premium only for it to constantly rise in price and lose perks.
"Experiencing interruptions? Check your extensions, including ad blockers" No, Google. Ad-blockers are not the ones causing the interruptions. YOU are.
(For the record, I don't believe to have witnessed delayed video playbacks, not on Brave for Android or Firefox + uBlock Origin for PC, nor have I gotten any messages telling me to turn the ad-blockers off. I'm not holding my breath on that continuing forward though.)
@alternativeto: any chance of implementing up/down voting of replies to comments and not just comments?
I haven't experienced any of that in firefox + ublock-origin so far. A few times recently some preroll ads managed to slip in when I was moving tabs between containers, and also the message about ad blocking was shown and could be just closed; but other than that the experience is mostly smooth. Also having autoplay disabled via Enhancer for YouTube is probably helpful here for those ads that do show up.
A/B Testing and Feature Rollouts: YouTube, like most large tech companies, uses A/B testing extensively. This means they release new features to a subset of users, not the entire user base. Cohort-Based Rollouts: You’re correct that features are often rolled out to specific user cohorts. These cohorts are often defined by factors such as: Demographics: Age, location, language. Usage Patterns: How often they use YouTube, what types of videos they watch, devices used (mobile vs. desktop vs. TV), subscription status (Premium, etc.). Account Age: Newly created accounts might be treated differently than older, established accounts. Random Assignment: Some cohorts are simply randomly selected to provide a control group and ensure unbiased results. Why Cohorts Matter: Controlled Experimentation: Rolling out to cohorts allows YouTube to compare the behavior of users with the new feature to users without it (the control group). Data Analysis: They can measure metrics like engagement, watch time, user satisfaction, and bug reports to determine if the new feature is an improvement. Gradual Rollout: If the data looks good, they gradually increase the size of the cohort with the new feature. If the data is negative, they can quickly pull the feature back and iterate without impacting the entire user base. Targeted Features: Some features might be relevant only to specific groups (e.g., features for content creators are rolled out to creator accounts first). Experimental Features (Beta Programs): YouTube often has “beta” programs or “experimental features” that users can opt-in to (e.g., YouTube Premium members sometimes get early access). This is another way to test features with a more engaged and willing audience.
Hopefully this pushes people making videos for YouTube off onto Odysee or something and try to actively get people onto it so it isnt left as some fringe thing only used by a few kinds of creators use. Setting aside I hate that term "creator" since it sounds corporate but I guess I get why the term exists since they aren't all artists or bloggers or educators so there is a lot to cover into a single label.
I wanted to say I found it curious that you have equated the term "creator" with "corporate". Idk if that speaks more on a misinterpretation of the terms or reflects on how evolving landscapes in internet technology lately has begun blurring the lines between things that are inately different or even opposed to each other. Corporate, to be corporated or incorporated, is reflective of branding, of property rights, or trade secrets, and of strict uniformity. Pretty much every aspect of something "corporate" is about as far away as one can get from "creator", conceptually speaking anyways. To create is to draw from ones imagination and to express artistic visions. For example, if tomorrow Google were to release a new unique product, I still don't think it would make sense to say they "created" it. While technically true definitiony, it sorta misrepresents how their business product design structure works. Sorry to go off on a tangent about this trivial matter, but I felt compelled to comment about it.
Additionally: We will never see any significant migration over to alternative platforms, especially not one like Odysee. Youtube offers incentives to those who create for the platform. Alternative platforms have been trying to compete with this, but the significantly smaller user base means that many find it of little use. Less monetization, less social engagement opportunities in comment sections due to minimal user activity. Lastly I'd point out that playforms like odysee, rumble and bitchute have all implemented their own video ads on their plarform
Correction, I meant "content creator". It's more the "content" part in how it relates with "creator". It has developed a superficial comodified feel to it removed from the art and pieces of people's lives and their information encompasses due to the nature of how videos of many has fallen into algorithm patterning to point of losing soul and sincerity, thus "corporate" in the sense of being more business than anything. Monetization alone isn't that big an issue they barely make anything usually but the issue is how this synergizes with recommendation algorithms which has lead to a social contagen driven by corporate greed since the algorithms are unintentionally designed to bring the worst out of people. Ideally it would be nice if people just could what they do best and enjoy most and live comfortably through direct and mutual support but I am aware it is currently a capitalist society and some of these people who actually dedicate a lot of time to making their videos these kinds of people need money like anyone else which means monetization even though more ideally I would rather be in favor of donations and crowd funding since advetising tends to be all show and no sincerity telling us very little if any product or it's quality in an any honest way at least usually. I specifically named Odysee since I know they monetize and not everyone can have enough money to fund the amount needed to make videos. Though of course some minority live in excess. People's social nature you could describe as an algorithm but the kind tech companies use in this regard a more extreme version of that but also can control it influencing behavior and beliefs with influence whether intentional or not. There is just too many topics to cover on the matter in a single post ranging from philosophy to politics to psychology to sociology. I just hope that gives you and others a better idea of what I was getting at.