YouTube To Inject Ads Directly Into Videos To Beat AdBlockers
The war between YouTube and AdBlockers has just intensified.
YouTube has started implementing a new ad-insertion technique that could make blocking ads on its platform almost impossible. According to a report published by the official Twitter account of SponsorBlock, Google is testing server-side ad insertion on YouTube. This technique places advertisements directly in the video stream, even affecting the timestamps used by popular “anti-ad” services like SponsorBlock.
As a result of this, some users on Reddit have reported seeing non-skippable ads on YouTube, even when using ad blockers like uBlock Origin. Additionally, some have observed that Google is blocking video controls, making it impossible for users to skip ads whenever they come on.
The introduction of server-side ads only seems to be affecting a few users, for now, as it's still being tested before a wide rollout.
Last month, users were reporting that YouTube videos would skip to the end when using certain browsers and adblockers.
“YouTube is improving its performance and reliability in serving both organic and ad video content,” said a Google spokesperson in an emailed statement to Gizmodo, when asked if it was injecting server-side ads. “This update may result in suboptimal viewing experiences for viewers with ad blockers installed. Ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service, and we’ve been urging viewers for some time to support their favorite creators and allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience.”
@YouTube
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