Ad Blockers Could Cause YouTube to Cease Functioning: Report
YouTube is currently experimenting with a policy that involves issuing three strikes to individuals who employ ad blockers.
This was first spotted by a Reddit user, now the company has confirmed this test to Android Authority. “We’re running a small experiment globally that prompts viewers with ad blockers to enable ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium. Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to turn off ad blockers,” a YouTube spokesperson said.
The company also provided details on how the practice works, but noted that “ad blockers violate YouTube’s terms of service.”
Affected users will receive “repeated notifications” asking them to allow ads on the platform. “In extreme cases, when viewers continue to use ad blockers, playback will be temporarily blocked,” the company explained.
The company also said that it takes the removal of video playback “very seriously” and will only disable playback if users repeatedly refuse requests to disable ad blocking on the platform. “If viewers feel they have been incorrectly flagged as ad blocker users, they can share this feedback by clicking the link in the prompt,” it added.
