YouTube will prevent users from watching videos if it detects that ads are being blocked

YouTube will not allow videos to be watched if the user's browser has an ad-blocking program, such as AdBlock, installed. If such blocking is detected, the service will not allow watching the video and will inform that the use of such technologies is not allowed.

According to YouTube, it is currently only being tested among a small number of people using the platform. The service announcement notes that advertising helps "keep YouTube free for billions of users around the world." And to watch content without ads, it is recommended to switch to the YouTube Premium subscription, which costs $11.99 per month in the US.

For now, people with ad blockers can simply close the notification, but if the new rules are implemented for everyone and officially, it may no longer be possible to simply ignore the warning, or close it and continue watching.

On the one hand, ads really allow the service to remain free for users, on the other hand, many users are annoyed by the amount of ads, because they are increasing more and more. And many, not wanting to watch multiple 30-second ads, turn on ad blockers.

In 2022, YouTube's advertising revenue was 29.2 billion dollars, in 2021 – 28.8 billion dollars. In the last quarter of 2022, the service earned $7.96 billion from advertising, about 8% less than the same period last year ($8.63 billion).

At the end of last year, YouTube reported that the Premium package has about 80 million subscribers, 30 million more than in 2021.

Today, online advertising in general is in a slump, with Google's ad revenue falling 3.6% to $59 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. Google is actively fighting the use of blockers in the Chrome browser and plans to launch a new API in the browser called Manifest v3. Not only should it protect users from installing malicious extensions, but it can also limit the effectiveness of blockers.