YouTube is used by millions, in fact, billions across the globe and for a long time the company has allowed people to use ad blockers so that they won’t see ads before and in between videos.
But recently, the platform decided to put a tight lease on the use of ad blockers, asking people to see ads if they want to use YouTube for free or they can take a YouTube Premium subscription.
This crackdown on YouTube ads has made a direct impact on developers who are in the business of ad blockers, and people using these tools have started uninstalling these apps/extensions because they don’t see the point of keeping it anymore. Reports coming in this week suggest that YouTube’s decision to restrict ad-free viewing has spelt doom for these ad blockers, with thousands of users uninstalling the app from their browser or mobile.
People are clearly miffed with YouTube’s strategy to block free viewing with ad blockers but they are clearly looking for alternatives to continue watching videos on the platform without having to pay for its Premium plans.
These ad blocker companies have resorted to running a survey for users who are removing their apps/extensions and most people cite their reason as YouTube’s recent changes in rules. Ad blockers like AdGuard have reportedly seen its daily uninstalls jump from 6,000 to 11,000 per day with further rise expected as the changes come into force across the globe.
Interestingly, most of the drop has been seen for users who are watching YouTube videos on Chrome, another Google product like YouTube.
Many people have even resorted to watching videos on other browsers like Microsoft Edge which clearly has no problems letting ad blockers do its job. We’re not sure these loopholes will last long but these efforts show that people are getting desperate to avoid paying for YouTube yet don’t want to see ads that are non-skippable.
It remains to be seen where YouTube’s drastic change in rules for ad blockers goes in the coming months and how users react to these changes.
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