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Here is a theory for Google’s fight against adblockers on YouTube

Posted on April 23, 2024April 23, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

You may have read about Google’s increased effort to block or limit adblockers on YouTube. Since adblocking is not a huge issue on mobile, Google’s fight has been mostly against desktop users.

Desktop users, be it on Windows, Linux, or Mac, have several options. They can install content blockers in their browsers to block ads. This is a common option, but far from the only one.

To name a few options:

Use a DNS-based adblocking solution.
Use a system-wide solution that blocks ads and other unwanted content, e.g., AdGuard.

Desktop and mobile users have other options at their disposal. Popular options include using YouTube frontends such as Invidious or YouTube third-party apps like NewPipe or SmartTube to watch videos without advertisement.

Google’s fight against adblockers intensifies

Google says that it is fighting the fight for content creators on YouTube. While it is true that content creators earn revenue when users watch ads on YouTube, it is also true that YouTube earns money every time as well.

This means that Google’s increased attack on adblocking serves both purposes. It does not end with it, though.

Any YouTube user who disables the adblocker on YouTube gets to see a lot of ads on the site. This can be quite the frustrating experience, especially if ads are shown in the middle of videos.

Here is a theory: Google makes ads on YouTube particularly obnoxious to sell YouTube Premium.

Clearly, YouTube Premium subscriptions offer advantages over ad-based revenue:

Subscription revenue is more reliable. It comes in every month, even if a customer does not watch a single second of videos on YouTube.
Subscription revenue is higher than the revenue that a user’s ad views generate.
If Google’s main advertising business is torpedoed, subscription revenue will continue.

It is in Google’s best interest therefore to sell subscriptions.

The problem with ads

While advertisement can be annoying, especially if too many ads are pushed, there are other reasons why many Internet users dislike them.

One of the main reasons is that they may be used by criminals and threat actors to attack users. Ads may try to convince users to download malware to their devices, open phishing websites, or buy junk status cryptocurrency.

Ads can be reported, but this reporting does not work too reliable. Scam ads may continue to be available even after they have been reported.

There is also the privacy component. Most ads use some form of tracking to increase the bottom line. While tracking will shift fundamentally once Google eliminates third-party cookies later this year, there will still be tracking.

What is your take on all of this? Do you use YouTube at all?

About YouTube’s Try searching to get started message

Posted on March 11, 2024March 11, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

More and more YouTube users see the “Try searching to get started” message when they open the YouTube website. Usually, YouTube displays a list of recommended videos when users launch the site. What is displayed there depends on whether you are signed-in or not.

If you are signed-in, you see recommendations based on past searches, played videos, and also subscriptions. Users who are not signed-in see general recommendations instead.

It appears that Google is changing the YouTube experience for anonymous users. These see the aforementioned message when they load YouTube in a web browser.

In other words, YouTube suggests not a single video for users who are not signed in to the site.

While YouTube suggests to search for videos to help it generate a feed of recommended videos, it does not appear to work that way at the time of writing.

Even if you run searches and play videos, YouTube continues to show the message on its frontpage.

Some users may also see “Your YouTube history is off” instead, even though they are signed out.

A click on the update setting button opens the personalization settings & cookie page on YouTube. While it is possible to enable the YouTube history there, even if you are not signed in, it does not seem to have an effect.

YouTube displays the try searching to get started message after confirmation on the page.

The meaning of “Try searching to get started”

Google published no confirmation of the change at this point. It is clear that logged out users are affected by this.

It is another option to stop binging so much on YouTube, but not that helpful for users who want to see recommendations.

Google is already being criticized on Twitter, Reddit, and other sites for the change. The main point of criticism is that it appears that Google is pushing users to signing in to continue getting video recommendations.

Recommendations are also not shown in private browsing windows. It is unclear if this is an error on YouTube’s part or a deliberate rollout of the feature.

Since the proposed action, “searching”, does nothing at the time, it looks more like an error. Still, it is possible that this is the new default for users who are not signed-in to the site.

Closing Words

There is a good chance that logged out YouTube users will watch less content on the site. The constant barrage of recommendations stops, which leaves manual searches and related videos as the only option of exploration.

Google will likely post an official statement at one point. For now, it looks like a half-baked implementation of the change.

Amazon removes Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision support for regular Prime Video subscriptions

Posted on February 12, 2024February 12, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Amazon introduced advertisement in Prime Video in the beginning of February 2024 for all Prime subscribers. All Prime subscribers who watch Prime Video content get ads by default when they do so.

While Amazon did show trailers, another form of promotion, before shows and movies, it did not show ads on top of that up until now.

Amazon introduced an Ad Free add-on option to Prime subscribers. Available for an extra $2.99 per month, Ad Free promises do remove advertisement from the Prime Video experience. This add-on removes the “new” ads, but not trailers from Amazon Prime Video.

The introduction of video ads on Prime Video is not the only change, apparently. Prime Video subscribers who use Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos cannot use the functionality anymore by default according to reports.

In other words: only customers who pay the extra $2.99 per month get support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos. Amazon appears to have removed support silently and without notice.

Amazon is silent

All Amazon Prime and Prime Video subscribers are subscribed to an ad-powered plan by default now. Up until now, it appeared that this was the only change that Amazon implemented.

Amazon has received criticism for how it introduced the ad-powered plan to its service. Unlike Netflix, Disney and others, it did not introduce a new ad-powered plan that customers could subscribe to.

Instead, Amazon added ads to the regular subscription. This is a hidden price increase and users got an inferior product compared to the previous offering.

Consumer organizations in several countries are suing Amazon over this already.

If that is not bad enough, Amazon has now also removed support for Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos for all regular subscribers. Want access to the features again? That is $2.99 per month extra then, thank you very much.

Regular Prime Video subscribers are limited to a resolution of 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Digital 5.1. Those who select the Ad Free add-on will notice that they gain support for Dolby Vision HDR und Dolby Atmos 3D-Sound.

I confirmed the change on a TV at home. The German 4K Filme website noticed the change as well and verified it on three different setups.

Amazon makes no mention of the removed functionality. The Ad Free add-on reveals no information that it is required to use Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. The missing functionality is not mentioned by Amazon in any official communication either.

Closing Words

If you needed another reason to consider cancelling your Amazon Prime subscription, this may be it. In the worst case, you not only getting ads while watching content on Amazon Prime, you are also getting an inferior product to before.

Here is one way to stop binging on YouTube so much

Posted on February 6, 2024February 6, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Look at those cute cats. Just one more video and I’m done for the day. Promise! One of the many appeals of YouTube is the site’s vast assortment of videos. There is probably nothing that you cannot watch on YouTube, with the exception of prohibited content of course. If you find a video you like, there is a good chance that hundreds, thousands or even more videos exist that are similar.

Google does a good job of pushing video recommendations to users. You get them on the startpage, while watching videos, and even after watching videos. Some vides may also autoplay after you finish watching a video. While it does not mean that these recommendations are great, they are not sometimes, they do parade new content in front of your eyes all the time.

In fact, you could probably spend the whole day on autopilot on YouTube without ever running out of something to watch.

Google knows that recommendations are key to keep users on the site. The more it knows about its users, the more likely it is that the next video may be of interest. Yes, YouTube gets it wrong at times.

I get a lot of Turkish video recommendations on YouTube, even though I do not speak the language and never watched a single Turkish video on the site. Still, most of the time, you get more of the same, which many users seem to like.

Binging may be a problem for some, especially if it keeps you from something more important. Some YouTube users seek for ways to limit binging on the site. While it may be easy for some, all it takes is to close the YouTube tab and that is that, it can be really difficult for others.

Read on to find out about one way that may help you with your binging on YouTube, at least a bit.

Stop binging on YouTube

One of the ways that YouTube may get you is through recommendations on the homepage. Open the YouTube homepage and you will see a list of recommendations. YouTube uses the watch history to show recommendations. The main intent is to provide users with something new to watch. This keeps them on the site and Google earns money through video ads and other ads on the site.

If you turn off the watch history, and delete all watched items, then you won’t get any recommendations on YouTube’s homepage anymore. It is a simple option that does require a Google account.

You could create a simple Google account for that, if you don’t want to stay signed-in on YouTube.

Here is how you disable the watch history on YouTube:

Open the YouTube website.
Sign-in to a Google account, if you have not done so already.
Activate the profile icon in the top right corner and select “Your data in YouTube”.
Scroll down to YouTube controls.
Check the “YouTube Watch History” status. If it reads on, click on the “on” line.
On the page that opens, select “turn off”.
An overlay with information opens. It tells you that you can only pause the history, not stop it entirely. Scroll down until the pause button becomes active and activate it.
Select “Delete old activity” on the next page to delete information about previously watched videos.
Select “all time” on the page that opens.
Select “delete” on the next page to finally delete the information.
Select “Got it” to go back to the main page.

When you go back to YouTube now, you should see no recommendations on the startpage.

You could also hide YouTube Shorts, especially if you do not find Shorts useful on the site, but happen to tune in from time to time anyway.

Closing Words

Obviously, not everyone may want to stay signed-in on YouTube just to limit binging on the video site. Working on self-control may also help. You could, for instance, make sure that everything else is done already before launching YouTube.

Another option that you have is to download YouTube videos instead of watching them online. Use a program like Vividl and download the video that interests you. You can play it locally then and do not get any recommendations while playing the video or afterwards.

Now You: do you binge on something?

Is YouTube slow? Your adblocker may be the reason

Posted on February 5, 2024February 5, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

Google implemented a change recently that makes YouTube slow for some users. This is not a bug, but a deliberate action by Google to punish visitors that use adblockers.

It is quite easy to find out. Visit YouTube and check what happens. If you stare at a blank page for seconds, then you’ve experienced Google’s punishment first hand.

The code is rather simplistic. You can break it down to 1) check for adblocker and 2) delay loading by 5 seconds if an adblocker is found.

It is interesting to note that this may also affect YouTube Premium subscribers. YouTube Premium subscribers do not see ads on the site. They pay a monthly subscription fee for that. If YouTube Premium subscribers have an adblocker installed, loading will be delayed as well.

Google wants you to disable the adblocker on the site. While this speeds up the loading of YouTube, it also enables ads on the site. Not a problem for YouTube Premium subscribers, who may try this to resolve the slow loading issue.

Thankfully though, there are some options to speed up YouTube without disabling adblockers on the site.

Options to fix YouTube’s slowness

Option 1: new filter

This is one of the easier options. You add a new custom filter to your adblocker and YouTube should load faster again. Most adblockers support custom filters, but some may not.

Here is the filter:

youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.EXPERIMENT_FLAGS.web_enable_ab_rsp_cl, false)

Add this filter to your content blocker, e.g., uBlock Origin or Brave Browser, restart the browser and YouTube should load fast again.

Here is how you add the filter to Brave Browser:

Click on the Shield icon in the Brave address bar.
Select Filter lists.
Scroll down on the page that opens and paste the new filter into the “create custom filters” field.
Select save changes.
Restart Brave.

This is the way if you use uBlock Origin:

Select the uBlock Origin icon in the browser’s toolbar.
Activate the “open the dashboard” button.
Switch to the “My filters” tab.
Paste the line into the field on the page.
Select “apply changes”
Restart the browser.

Option 2: Frontends or third-party clients

This is another option. Instead of using YouTube directly in a browser or the official apps, you’d use a frontend in the browser or a third-party app.

Check out my guide on bypassing ads on YouTube without adblockers for a list of suggestions.

The main difference between a frontend and an app is simple:

Frontends — can be opened in any browser. They work like the YouTube website in the browser for the most part. Some features, for instance some that may require a YouTube account, may not work.
Third-party apps — these install on mobile devices. Run them instead of the dedicated YouTube app or the YouTube website. They may also have limitations.

Video playback and searches work in all instances.

Option 3: switch to extensions that skip or speed-up ads

This type of extension is relatively new. It does not block ads on YouTube, but it either skips them, if supported, or fast forwards them.

Install an extension like Ad Speedup to use the functionality. You need to disable your adblocker on YouTube and the new extension will take over for it.

Closing Words

A cat and mouse game is going on between Google and adblock users. Google seems dedicated to make the life of adblock users as miserable as possible, at least where it comes to interactions with YouTube. Adblock users, on the other hand, need to find new ways to deal with those.

Now You: do you use an adblocker YouTube on?

Ad Free on Prime Video does not mean ad free, apparently

Posted on February 3, 2024February 3, 2024 by Martin Brinkmann

When Amazon announced that it would introduce ads in Prime Video for all customers, it revealed that customers could pay a few bucks per month extra to avoid advertisement on the service.

Prime Video customers from the United States may see ads already when they view shows and movies on the platform. Soon, starting next week, customers from other regions will also see ads on Amazon Prime Video.

Amazon customers who do not want ads on the platform may purchase an add-on, which Amazon calls Ad free. It turns out now that adding Ad Free to the Amazon Prime subscription does not really remove all ads on the platform.

Amazon may show trailers for shows to customers, even if they pay for an ad free experience. Clearly, Amazon does not define these trailers as advertisement. At least some customers may have a different opinion on that, especially since it appears no longer possible to skip these to access the actual content.

When is an ad an ad?

Are trailers for other shows ads? Considering that these trailers promote other content on the platform, they can be considered advertisement.

Back in the days of DVD videos, companies used to put trailers in front of the actual film or TV show. These were often unskippable as well. Now, Amazon seems to use the very same strategy to push other shows on its platform.

At least some Amazon customers who paid the extra $3 think that this is unacceptable.

Amazon may run into trouble in other regions with the introduction of ads on the platform and the option to pay more to remove these again. In Germany, consumer protection organizations believe that this change should be considered a price increase. Price increases need explicit customer approval in Germany and several other European countries.

Several organizations plan to take legal action against Amazon. There is a good chance that the court will decide against Amazon in the case. While this may not help Amazon customers in the United States and, maybe some other regions, it may in some regions.

Closing Words

Streaming services started out as “better” replacements for Cable TV. Customers would get access to an ad-free experience for a monthly fee.

Some services showed ads on their platforms from the get-go. Amazon was one of them, provided that trailers are considered ads.

Now it seems, that streaming is quickly turning into the same behemoth that it initially thought to slay. Most major streaming platforms support advertisement plans now. These are cheaper, but viewers have to watch several minutes of ads each hour.

Streaming service hopping still works as a way to counter price increases and ads on platforms. Sign-up for just a month or two instead of longer periods, and switch services regularly. This guarantees that you don’t miss shows that you want to watch, but without breaking the bank.

Now You: do you use streaming services?

YouTube TV: Google promises fewer but longer ads

Posted on December 15, 2023December 15, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Most YouTube users would probably agree that YouTube is more enjoyable without ads. Ads that play before, during or after videos on YouTube are seen as a nuisance by many users.

Google’s YouTube Premium subscription does away with ads, but it comes at the cost of $13.99 per month in the United States.

Google announced two changes recently that change advertisement on TV screens. The first promises fewer ad breaks for certain long-form content videos. The change comes at the cost of longer ad breaks.

Google started to test this change in September 2023. It says that the majority of viewers prefer grouped video ads instead of ads that are distributed throughout videos on YouTube.

YouTube TV Ads changes

YouTube will roll out the announced change globally. It applies only to “certain long-form content on connected TVs”. YouTube will also change the information that YouTube displays to users during ad breaks.

Previously, YouTube displayed the number of ads that users can expect to see during the break. The change displays the total playtime of all ads until they can be skipped on the site or until the ad break ends. Not all adverts can be skipped on YouTube.

Ads are coming to YouTube Shorts on the big screen

YouTube users who like to watch Shorts, shorter videos, will start to see advertisement soon. The short video format was launched a little bit over a year ago on the big screen. Google says that it has seen the viewership double in less than a year already.

Google launches Shorts ads globally on YouTube TV. These ads are displayed in-between Shorts videos on the big screen.

According to Google, viewers may use their TV remotes to skip these ads, just like they can do on mobile devices.

Google’s announcement did not include additional details on the change. It is unclear how frequent ads are shown when users watch YouTube Shorts on the big screen.

There are alternatives

Most Smart TVs and media solutions, such as Amazon Fire TV devices , support the installation of third-party apps. There are several YouTube frontends that you may install on your devices that do away with ads and offer other advantages.

You can check out my guide on watching YouTube without ads on Fire TV here.

Installation is not as straightforward as using a connected ad store. It usually requires that you need to download the app from a third-party host, for instance GitHub, and install it manually.

The entire process is not overly complicated, but most may appreciate a step-by-step guide as it eliminates most issues that you may experience.

Closing Words

Google is introducing more ads on YouTube. While it tinkers around with ad formats, playtimes and number, it is clear that ads won’t go away on the site.

Google could make them less obnoxious and time-wasting, but it does not look as if this is going to happen in the near future.

Now You: do you watch videos on YouTube?

Need another reason why you shouldn’t “buy” digital content?

Posted on December 2, 2023December 2, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

There are three different types of digital content that you can pay money for. The first is rented, the second purchased and the last is handed over temporarily as part of a subscription.

Purchase is the wrong word for the second option, as it is more of a right to watch or access the content based on parameters set by someone else. Borrowed is a better term as it describes the transaction better.

The problem for users is that this right can be revoked at any time. The last decade is full of examples of this. To name a few: Google Stadia (digital games, refunded), Amazon Prime Video (select videos, temporary issue), Xbox 360 Store (digital games, only some playable on newer Xbox consoles), or Microsoft Store (ebooks, refunded).

Now it is Sony that can be added to the list. According to a Kotaku report, Sony is informing affected PlayStation users currently about the matter.

You bought it, we take it away

The issue affects PlayStation users who purchased TV shows on the PlayStation Store made by Discovery. Sony cites “content licensing arrangements” and tells users rather bluntly that they won’t be able to watch previously purchased Discovery content anymore going forward.

In other words, Sony removes the purchased content from the user’s PlayStation library. From January 1, 2024 on, users won’t find the purchased shows in their library anymore. They won’t be able to play the content anymore, and there is no option to mitigate the issue.

Sony’s support page lists all affected titles. Titles include MythBusters, Naked and Afraid, Outrageous Acts of Science and dozens of other shows.

Sony is not offering refunds for purchased content. This means, that users will lose access to the content without full or partial reimbursement.

The terms of service include the following paragraph that makes it clear that content may not be available indefinitely:

Access to Other Licensed Content that has been purchased may also be subject to compatibility between the Authorized Device and the video format of the Other Licensed Content, continued availability to the Other Licensed Content from our third-party licensors, and other applicable restrictions.

Digital content is only borrowed, never purchased

When you buy digital content, you borrow it only. The company that you buy it from loans it to you. There is a good chance that you may access the content indefinitely, but there is always a chance that access is removed.

This can be because of licensing changes, but also when companies decided to terminate services.

This is different when you buy physical media, especially movies or TV shows. Games may require an active Internet connection and access to a gaming Store nowadays to download data, but for most games, it still means that you own the game. Also worth noting is that you can resell physical games but not digital goods.

Here is the golden rule: if you want to access something indefinitely, buy the physical product, if available. If it is not available physically, either make the purchase knowing that you may lose access to it in the future, or skip it.

Not all content is available in physical form. This is true for all kinds of content, from TV shows and movies to games and so-called DLCs (downloadable Content).

Now You: do you buy digital content?

YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown has an impact on content blockers

Posted on November 4, 2023November 4, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Google’s crackdown on ad blockers on YouTube started in early August. The company began tests that informed a small percentage of users with ad blockers that “ad blockers were not allowed on YouTube”.

In August, things heated up as Google started to display the prompts aggressively to users with ad blockers. Two months on and it is now confirmed that Google is cracking down on the use of content blockers on YouTube globally.

Ad blocking was always a cat and mouse game on the Internet. As ad blockers evolved and started to gain tractions, sites and publishers began to develop countermeasures. Some introduced paywalls, others modified ads on their sites or used different techniques to display ads even on systems with ad blockers.

Developers of ad blockers reacted to these changes, and the whole thing began anew.

Impact on YouTube users

Google’s crackdown seems to have a severe impact on users who use ad blockers. It appears that a portion of users who use ad blockers on YouTube have uninstalled them to continue watching videos at the site.

While uninstallations have increased, installations of ad blockers have increased as well. A report from Wired includes quotes from several companies that produce content blockers.

The makers of AdGuard, a popular blocking tool with 75 million users, including 4.5 million paying customers, saw uninstallations jump from about 6000 per day to 52,000 in October. Installations surged to about 60,000 installations as well, levelling the number of installations and uninstallations. The paid version of AdGuard was not affected by this, according to the company.

Munich-based Ghostery noticed up to five times the installs and uninstalls throughout October, according to the report. Most users, when asked for the reason for uninstalling the extension, stated that it was not working anymore on YouTube.

Why installs and uninstalls are surging

Ad blocker users who run into issues on YouTube have just a few options. They can follow Google’s advice and turn off the ad blocker. This allows them to watch YouTube videos with ads.

Another option is the purchase of YouTube Premium, but this comes at a monthly cost. Google announced an increase in the price as well recently.

The third option is to try different content blockers to find one that works. Users evaluate different content blockers until they find one that works or until they give up.

This explains the increase in uninstalls and installs at the same time. Even top of the line content blockers, like uBlock Origin, may fail to block ads on YouTube for a short period of time.

Well maintained content blockers and filter lists are updated frequently to react to changes that Google introduced on YouTube. It is still a cat and mouse game, and will continue to be one.

You can check out my guide on watching YouTube videos without ads here. It offers several options besides using content blockers. All of these methods work, but they may have disadvantages.

Now You: do you visit YouTube regularly?

Netflix announces new Binge Ad format, Sponsorships and Downloads

Posted on November 3, 2023November 3, 2023 by Martin Brinkmann

Netflix users may subscribe to the service for $6.99 per month, but the caveat is that the plan includes ads. The company published One Year Into Netflix Ads this week on the official blog to look back and into the future of ads on the platform.

According to the post, Netflix’s Standard with Ads plan has reached 15 million global monthly active users already. This may not look like much, when compared to the 247 million total subscribers, but the number is growing significantly.

Netflix has a partnership with Microsoft Advertising to deliver adverts to viewers. The company announced a number of new features and changes for advertisers and also for users subscribed to the ad-powered plan.

Binge Ad format and sponsorships

Netflix plans to introduce the binge ad format in the first quarter of 2024. Netflix customers who watch four episodes of a show in a row will get the fourth episode ad-free.

It is unclear if this new format will impact the overall time that advertisement plays per hour on Netflix.

Sponsorships are already available in the United States. Netflix plans to expand these globally in 2024.

Three types of sponsorships are available: title, moment and live sponsorships. Here is what they represent:

Title sponsorships are tied to specific titles.
Moment sponsorships allow advertisers to tap into local holidays.
Live sponsorships are available for live events, such as Netflix’s live sports event, the Netflix Cup.

Other advertising changes

Netflix announced a number of additional changes. New playtimes are available for ads. The service started with 15 and 30 second ads initially. Advertisers may now book 10, 20 and 60 seconds ads globally as well.

Also new are new advertising categories, including dating, pharma and enhanced financial services.

Another change affects the features of the Standard with Ads plan. Netflix notes that it includes 1080p quality now, lets users watch two concurrent streams and that downloads will also become available.

Netflix writes:

All members of the ad-supported plan will be able to download their favorite series and movies, making Netflix the only ad-supported streamer to offer downloads.

Netflix does not explain how this is going to work. It is likely that ads are downloaded along with series and movies. Downloads are a welcome feature, as it gives subscribers the option to watch content while offline, e.g., while travelling.

All paid Netflix plans support downloads once the change lands.

Closing Words

The advertising gamble along with the crackdown on password sharing seems to pay off for Netflix. These helped the company certainly increase its subscriber count.

Whether it is a good strategy in the long run remains to be seen. Netflix announced price increases in several regions recently, but only for ad-free plans.

Clearly, most of the changes benefit Netflix and advertisers only. The new binge watching format sounds like a nice improvement. The majority of changes focus on expanding ads on Netflix.