YouTube Tests Asking Users to Disable Ad Blockers to Watch Videos

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YouTube is currently testing a new pop-up asking users with an ad blocker to disable it to watch videos. The pop-up, which was first shared by Reddit user Sazk100 a couple of days ago suggests users to either allow ads on YouTube or try the ad-free experience provided by YouTube Premium.

“Ads allow YouTube to stay free for billions of users worldwide,” Google emphasized on the pop-up. In a statement shared with IGN, a Google spokesperson said that the pop-up is a “small experiment,” with no indication yet that the company may eventually ban ad blockers on the platform.

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Image credit: Sazk100

“We’re running a small experiment globally that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium,” the Google spokesperson said. “Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers.”

While it’s true that ad blockers are bad for platforms and content creators relying on ad revenue to pay the bills, some ad types on YouTube, especially the non-skippable ads that show up before watching a video can certainly put your patience to the test. Not so long ago, Google experimented with showing up to 10 unskippable pre-roll ads to users, leading to some legitimate complaints.

Obviously, Google would very much like to push more YouTube users to subscribe to YouTube Premium, which offers ad-free viewing and other perks such as video downloads and background listening on mobile. With YouTube Music Premium included at no additional cost, YouTube Premium is actually pretty good value at $11.99/month. Back in November, Google announced that YouTube Premium and YouTube Music now had a combined subscriber base of 80 million people.

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