YouTube enforces stricter measures if users persistently employ ad-blockers and promotes the use of YouTube Premium.

​​YouTube is preparing to conduct an experiment aimed at encouraging users to disable their ad-blocker extensions or requiring them to subscribe to YouTube Premium.

As of late June 2023, YouTube is reportedly pursuing a more stringent approach to deter viewers from using ad-blocker tools while watching videos on its platform.

In this regard, the video platform has displayed popup-style ‘prompts’ to warn users that their ability to watch videos will be restricted unless they disable their ad-blockers or add the website to a whitelist, allowing ads to be displayed. If users want an ad-free experience, YouTube also suggests subscribing to YouTube Premium so that “content creators can still get paid.”

Nevertheless, this message can be dismissed by clicking on the X icon in the top right corner. After dismissing the prompt, users can continue to use YouTube as usual. However, realizing that these ‘reminders’ may not have been sufficient to impact users, YouTube has taken even stronger measures against users employing ad-blockers.

According to this, a user has posted an image on the social media platform Reddit, showing that YouTube now displays a countdown timer in the top right corner of the popup window, instead of directly showing the close icon. Subsequently, users may also receive a prompt stating “video player will be blocked after 3 videos” if they persistently refrain from adding YouTube to the ad-blocker whitelist. Naturally, this significantly impacts the user experience while watching videos.

Below the comments section on the Reddit social media platform, some users employing ad-blockers are also confirming that they have received similar notifications, including a few uBlock Origin users – one of the most popular and effective ad-blocker extensions for Chrome.

However, this new approach is reported to affect only a small number of users, and YouTube has not disclosed how many users or regions are participating in the experiment.

Continuously taking strong measures

With the majority of its revenue stemming from advertising, YouTube has witnessed a significant decline in its business-generated income over the past three quarters. This implies that even more stringent measures will continue to be implemented by YouTube in the near future on a broader scale, especially if these measures prove effective. Recently, Google announced a price increase for YouTube Premium, with the subscription fee rising from $11.99 to $13.99 per month.

Representatives from YouTube also affirmed that the platform may temporarily disable the playback feature “in extreme cases, when viewers persist in using ad-blockers.”

However, YouTube representatives also emphasized that disabling the playback feature would only occur “if viewers disregard repeated requests to allow ads to be displayed on YouTube.” Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether YouTube would automatically block playback after a user watches more than three videos or if it will provide more opportunities for users to comply.

Notably, the effort to prompt users to purchase YouTube Premium and disable ad-blockers is just one of several robust actions the platform has recently taken toward its users.

Most recently, YouTube announced that it will cease displaying recommended videos on the homepage for users who have opted to disable their watch history.

This means that your YouTube homepage could look drastically different if you choose to clear and disable your watch history. Specifically, you will still see the search bar and guide menu on the left. However, your recommended video feed will be empty. For some users, this could result in an almost empty YouTube homepage experience on both mobile devices and the web.

According to YouTube’s rationale, this experiential change will allow users to search and navigate through subscribed channels without being distracted by suggested videos. Nonetheless, this move may not be suitable for all users who prefer to keep their watch history off the platform. Furthermore, YouTube does not enforce this requirement for users who are logged out, meaning their watch history is not recorded.