YouTube Testing New Feature That Disables Ad-Blockers: What We Know

YouTube is undoubtedly one of the go-to places for people to consume content, and most of the creators making a living on the platform do so thanks to the presence of ads. Now, in a first, YouTube is looking to ban the use of ad-blockers—which restrict advertising revenue for the company—and reduce the amount creators take home. While browsing YouTube, a user on Reddit saw a popup that said, “Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube.” The popup also offered an easy way to sign up for YouTube Premium, which is a paid ad-free experience. It highlighted that ads allow billions of users to enjoy YouTube for free and asked the Reddit user to “Allow YouTube ads” in their ad-blocking software. Last year, the San Bruno-based organization also killed off YouTube Vanced, a third-party YouTube client that allowed users to get access to premium YouTube features, including an ad-free experience for free on Android devices.