YouTube's plan backfires, people are installing better ad blockers
People are installing and uninstalling ad blockers in record high numbers as a result of YouTube's anti-ad blocking efforts.
cross-posted from: https://lemdro.id/post/2883134 (!android@lemdro.id)
This could backfire into something Google don’t want: everyone using adblockers.
Imagine everyone installing adblockers just to skip YouTube’s obnoxious ad rolls, just to also block most Internet ads.
Suddenly, having an adblocker becomes mainstream like wearing socks.
You guys are wearing socks?!
I was curious and latest statistics show 43% of users between 16 and 24 use ad blockers. We're already at bra level of mainstreamyness.
No, it couldn't. People who didn't use adblockers aren't going to suddenly start using them just because YouTube started blocking adblockers. People who didn't use adblockers aren't impacted at all, nothing has changed for them.
Unfortunately, it means they'll move on pieces they already have in place.
They can disable ad blocking in Chrome entirely, and it probably won't mill the browser.
The article linked here showed a pattern of people uninstalling ad blockers on Chrome… and then turning around and installing them on Edge.
This YouTube campaign might be one of the best things that ever happened to Edge.
"Go on then, there are other browsers than these" - Jake Chambers in The Gunslinger by Stephen King
I don't see how? This is targeting people already using ad blockers. People not already using them should not see any difference in service so why would they change their behaviour? At most a mild rise of awareness, though I bet most people following these news stories are also already running ad blockers. It is all the other aggressive shit they are doing with ads that will turn people towards ad blockers/premium.
ublock origion, if anyone needs to know which one to use...
ublock origion
I prefer uBlock Origin myself.
Adnauseam if you want to add a layer of fuck you on top of it.
It doesn't say more people overall use ad blockers. It says people that were already using them are now switching between different extensions. Let's wait and see if this increases Firefox's market share. This could be the real good outcome of all this.
But people who don't use adblockers aren't the target if anti adblock stuff in the first place.
It pushed me more towards degoogling. Was already using newpipe on Android and ignoring the YouTube app, and now I'm on freetube on desktop. No need for Google account anymore to look at the feed I want.
Invidious has been a saviour for me on mobile. The ads were so painfully long. To make it worse, I’d use YouTube to help fall asleep, adjust it to the right volume, then BAM! Loud advert. I didn’t use an ad blocker on PC for ages because I get that bandwidth is expensive as hell, but they really started taking the piss and I gave up.
freetube uses Electron = Chromium ;D
At the moment, I am in a hybrid state. I also use Indivious to watch the videos, but I still use the subscription view of YouTube to see what video is new. I have 145 subscriptions. I installed a new addon Redirector, which you can guess what it does, and it redirects each new tab to an Indivious instance if it's a YouTube video page. So YouTube thinks I stopped watching videos at the moment. Sometimes I forget to middle click instead and get reminded how bad the ads are.
The reason I am doing that is, because I feared Google could delete my account, if I keep blocking ads with uBlock Origin. It probably never happened to anyone, but the uncertainty was too high to risk for me, as I need this account for other things. Also sometimes I want to like or comment on the video too.
The day i remove my adblocker is the day... ah who am i kidding, i will never uninstall my adblocker.
t doesn’t say more people overall use ad blockers. It says people that were already using them are now switching between different extensions. Let’s wait and see if this increases Firefox’s market share. This could be the real good outcome of all this.
That's literally the first thing after I install any new system.
I will abandon windows when the games can all be played on Linux properly.
I wish there is a github FOSS script that does this for new windows builds.
I’m about a week off coming back to Windows from Linux.
Some things that chased me off:
I keep feeling like Linux is just a year or two away from being good enough for common folks to switch over, and I guess if all you need if Firefox, it’s probably there. But the experience is just so subtly, but consistently, bad year after year.
For reference, I was on Pop!_OS (whatever their latest stable was, I think based on Ubuntu 22?). I had read that Pop!_OS was one of the better distorts for games.
The real villainy here is that Google is trying to project this practice as stealing. They have started dictating what you can or can't do on your system (this has parallels with their crooked WEI efforts).
Just in case you are worried about the moral implications of using ad blockers on YouTube, remember this - they didn't become the video hosting monopoly by playing fair. They waited till all their competitors were dead, to start demanding money and aggressively pushing ads. If you are worried about the income of the creators, please pay them directly - don't feed a false 'dont-be-evil' corporation.
Some users are even going as far as to switch to a new browser.
As someone who changes browsers regularly on a whim, I love how big of a deal this is to the average person.
Yeah, but I'm sure a lot of people just bought youtube premium. I know my friend did...stupid idiot.
I wonder how business owners feel about their advertisements being weaponized to push people toward subscription plans that eliminate advertisements.
I use Hetzner's Storage Share (which is a nextcloud instance) as my drive and pay around 5€ / mo for 1 TB. Depending on the features you want you could also use their Storage Box which is more like a plain network drive, and cheaper.. like 13€ / mo for 5 TB.
damn here in Egypt it's a dollar a month for students or 2 for others. even with the purchasing power difference its a pretty good deal
I've had YouTube premium from the inception of their subscription model prior to/at the beginning of YouTube red, as I initially had a paid Google music subscription.
Personally, there isn't a better option for the amount of hassle involved in my opinion. It's a family account, and managing so many people's YouTube experiences on at least a dozen different devices would be a nightmare I don't want to think about. (Multiple of each TV's, Roku's, Android phones, iPhones, pc's, etc)
This isn't really relevant to your friend, it is quite silly when it's just one person not willing to do it for just themselves.
Only reason they are seeing so many uninstalls is because ublock origin is the big one that works and that requires uninstalling other blockers to get it to not be detected.
Ublock origin doesn't track uninstalls but it has gained quite a few users in the last 8 days
vs
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/
Are there any services that provide an alternative to YouTube history? I primarily watch on my Chromecast with Google TV and I haven't been able to find any
Have you tried Piped? It can be self hosted, but there are also public instances. Features also include Playlists and Feed, probably also History. Maybe you need to create an account for that. Never tried that, because I use it through the Android App LibreTube which also has these features without account.
I'm shocked I tell you. Shocked! Who could have seen this coming!?
Well, well, well, Google. I told you.
This is only 20% of our power. We are not even Super Saiyan yet.
And equally, Google is yet to use the big guns they have. Don't get me wrong, I hate Google with a passion, but they have way too much power over the internet for us to leave even a dent on their plans.
They have a lot of power, but that power is tied by goodwill.
Right now they are cashing in all that goodwill with price increases, more onerous privacy invasion and “sponsored” links in lieu of actually accurate search results.
Google: it’s over 9000!
It pushed me to buy grayjay which is allowing me to easily keep up with people off youtube. I just wish that grayjay had a web app.
my problem with grayjay is that it really wants to give me stuff from the trending tab even though it's supposed to be subscriptions only
"There’s also the option of biting the bullet and paying for YouTube Premium."
surely you jest android authority