--- title: "YouTube Threatens to Become Even More Horrendous If You Have an Ad Blocker" description: "YouTube has had it with you blocking the damn ads on its platform — and it's willing to make the experience as miserable as possible." date: "2023-11-23" modified: "2023-11-23" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/youtube-horrendous-ad-blocker" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "advertisements" - "Google" - "the digest" - "YouTube" --- # YouTube Threatens to Become Even More Horrendous If You Have an Ad Blocker ![YouTube has had it with you blocking the damn ads on its platform — and it's willing to make the experience as miserable as possible.]() *\Image: Futurism\* ## Blocker Blocker YouTube has had it with you blocking the ads on its platform — and it's willing to make the experience as miserable as possible until you give up. As [*Business Insider* reports](), the company is encouraging viewers to turn off their ad blockers in their browsers or subscribe to YouTube Premium, which costs a whopping $13.99 a month, by degrading the experience of using the site. "Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses," a spokesperson told *Insider*. "That's why the use of ad blockers violates YouTube's Terms of Service." As a result, users with ad blockers have been getting increasingly frustrated with nagging messages and irritating multi-second delays. "In the past week, users using ad blockers may have experienced suboptimal viewing, which included delays in loading, regardless of the browser they are using," the spokesperson added. ## Ad Nauseam Earlier this week, Reddit users [accused YouTube]() of slowing down their Firefox browsers. But as it turns out, the company wasn't just targeting a single browser — it's simply trying to annoy anybody making use of an ad blocker, regardless of what browser they're using. YouTube's crackdown on ad blocking has been [going on for months now](), with users growing increasingly frustrated, as evidenced by [recent spikes]() in Google searches for terms like "YouTube ad blocker." "I am never buying YouTube Premium, piss off YouTube," one Reddit user [wrote in a post]() that was upvoted well over 1,000 times last month. Others balked at the considerable price the company charges to access the ad-free YouTube Premium. "If \[YouTube\] Premium was five bucks I'd pay for it in a heartbeat, and would've done years ago," another user [commented](). But whether ad blockers will prevail remains to be seen. Google is still [planning to change]() how extensions work in its Chrome browser — which could eventually render many, if not all, ad blockers obsolete on its dominant browser. **More on YouTube:** *[YouTube Creators Will Be Forced To Disclose AI Content]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()