Following the ad blocker crackdown, YouTube is explicitly going after third-party — often mobile — apps that let viewers skip advertising, 9TO5Google reported.
YouTube announced today that it is “strengthening our enforcement on third-party apps that violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, specifically ad-blocking apps.”
Users will see a “The following content is not available on this app” error message or experience “buffering issues” when they try to play content though those alternative clients.
“We want to emphasize that our terms don’t allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership, and Ads on YouTube help support creators and let billions of people around the world use the streaming service.”, YouTube wrote.
According to 9TO5Google, YouTube Premium, which hit 100 million subscribers in February, is offered as the solution for those that “prefer an entirely ad-free experience.”
Going forward, it will crack down on clients that violate these policies: “…when we find an app that violates these terms, we will take appropriate actions to protect our platform, creators, and viewers.”
The Verge reported that YouTube is bringing its ad blocker fight to mobile. In an update on Monday, YouTube writes that users accessing videos through a third-party ad blocking app may encounter buffering issues or see an error that reads, “The following content is not available on this app.”
Last year, YouTube “launched a global effort” to encourage users to allow ads while watching videos or upgrade to YouTube Premium. It also began disabling videos for users with ad blocking extension enabled.
But now, YouTube says its policies don’t allow “third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership.” The block targets third-party apps that use YouTube’s API to get videos interruption-free. AdGuard says its not affected by the change since the app doesn’t use YouTube’s API.
According to The Verge, to get around this, YouTube once again suggests signing up for the ad-free YouTube Premium. This likely won’t come as pleasant news to all who watch YouTube through ad blocking apps, but it doesn’t look like YouTube is backing down in its battle against ad blockers anytime soon.
ArsTechnica reported YouTube is putting third-party ad-blocking on notice. An ominous post on the official YouTube Community Help forum titled “Enforcement on Third Party Apps” says the company is “strengthening our enforcement on third-party apps that violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, specifically ad-blocking apps.”
Google would really like it if you all paid for YouTube Premium.
According to ArsTechnica, another popular option is “NewPipe,” a from-scratch YouTube player that follows the open source ethos and is available on the FOSS-only store F-Droid. NewPipe wants a lightweight client without the proprietary code and million permissions that YouTube needs, but it also blocks ads.
Personally, I’ve been using YouTube Premium for a while now and it works well. It is something you have to pay for. I recommend it if you really don’t want to see YouTube ads.