Using an Ad Blocker on YouTube Just Got Even Harder

Over the last few years, YouTube has quietly been making it harder and harder to use ad blockers on its site. Thanks to continuous updates to its ad algorithm, most ads on YouTube are able to bypass ad blockers, subjecting users to 30-second commercials before they watch the trailer for Neagley, the new Reacher spin-off.

Now, some users are reporting that YouTube has made using an ad blocker even harder, disabling some core site features until they turn their ad blocker off.

YouTube Is Disabling Comments for Ad-Blocking Users

Within the past week, several Redditthreads sprung up with users reporting that comments were turned off on every video they watched. On some of them, even the video description had disappeared. One poster updated his initial complaint with a revelation: "I turned off my ad blocker and they're turned on again." Even people who paid for ad-free YouTube Premium got hit with the restriction if they were using an ad blocker.

One person found that YouTube straight up disabled playback entirely until they turned off their ad blocker. Another even compiled a list of restrictions people reported facing, including adding additional 30-second load times and fully locking users out after watching three videos. "I have a feeling they're going to scorch the earth over ad blockers," the user wrote.

That same user reported being hit with an ad for YouTube Premium immediately upon turning their ad blocker off, heavily supporting the suspicion that this crack down is part of a larger ploy to get people to subscribe to the $13.99/month plan. "They created [Premium] as a 'solution' to a problem they created themselves," the user wrote.

Not everyone with an ad blocker has been affected, though. "I'm using Brave + uBlock Origin," one Redditor wrote. "No ads and no issues with playing anything on YouTube."