Tag: YouTube

Google is testing floating ads on YouTube that overshadow part of the video

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you thought that the current state of the Internet and advertisement in general is at a threshold already, then you may be surprised that companies like Google, Meta, Netflix, or Amazon don’t really think so.

Google seems to be one of the main driving forces behind ads. The advertising company that also operates a search engine, browser, and the YouTube website, announced last month that YouTube Premium Lite users would soon start seeing more ads.

The brunt of ads, however, is reserved for users who do not pay Google to see less or no ads. A report on Tech Issues suggests that Google is pushing it again on YouTube.

The site mentions two reports by YouTube users. The first is about the missing skip button on YouTube, which Google started to hide as early as October 2024. Google displayed a skip button when ads played in the past, but this appears to have changed for some users. No skip button means that you have to sit through the entire ad or ads before you can start watching the video.

The second new type of ad may even be more annoying. Since users only accept a number of ads on the site, Google thought it a good idea to add floating ads to videos.

The example given by a user on Reddit shows a small banner overlay on the video screen that promotes a seemingly unrelated channel on the site. To make matters worse, there does not appear to be an easy way to close that banner. Apparently, you need to click on the three-dots first before you can hide it again.

So, if you do use a content blocker, then there is a good chance that a rules update will hide this new form of advertisement on YouTube. However, depending on how you access YouTube, you may not be able to run a content blocker. For instance, if you use the official YouTube app, you can’t block ads that it displays easily. You can check out my guide on blocking most ads on Android for starters.

Now You: how do you handle ads on sites like YouTube? Do you block them? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Google introduces Hyping on YouTube, what you need to know

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google announced a new feature for YouTube that it says is “all about helping emerging YouTube channels grow by connecting them with new audiences”. Called “Hype”, it allows any YouTube user to hype videos.

The only restrictions are that the video needs to have been published a maximum of seven days ago and that the publisher has less than 500,000 subscribers. This should apply to most channels on YouTube therefore, especially since it sounds a bit crazy that a channel with 450,000 subscribers is considered emerging.

Anyway, each YouTube user has three hypes per week. You need to be signed in to hype a video and YouTube will show a leaderboard of the “most hyped” videos from the week on the site.

In the future, Google plans to introduce options to purchase hypes. Means, once you run out of your three hypes you can start buying more. Useful for the creators whose videos you push, but also for Google as it will certainly take its share of the price of that.

Google says that hyping pushes videos to regional leaderboards, where they may get more exposure and thus views. In addition to that, hyped videos get a special badge on YouTube. It appears, however, that the amount of hype has no influence on recommendations or search results.

Is it worthwhile then? Probably not. While fans may be able to push videos from a certain creator to the top hype charts of the week, the system seems to benefit larger channels closer to the 500k limit more than smaller ones with just a few users.

The main benefactor will be Google, as users will certainly use the option to buy more hypes to push their favorite creators on the site. Also, the amount of hype a video gets on YouTube says nothing about its quality or usefulness to you.

All in all, it does not sound overly useful and could potentially be just another scheme by Google to earn more revenue on the site.

Now You: what is your take on the new Hype option on YouTube? Cool new feature that sounds useful and could really help smaller channels stand a chance against the juggernauts? Or another cash grab by Google?

YouTube Experience Interruptions

Is Google delaying videos on YouTube for users with ad blockers?

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Watching videos on YouTube is the favorite pastime of many Internet users. Those without YouTube Premium have to sit through ads before they get to see the video that they clicked on. The main way around this is to use an ad blocker.

Good ones block video ads on YouTube so that the actual video plays right away. Google is constantly tweaking and adjusting things on YouTube to make ad blockers less effective.

From displaying banners to users with ad blockers that they have to turn off the content blocker to watch the video to manipulation.

Reports emerged this month that Google may delay videos on YouTube for users of ad blockers. There is this thread on Reddit talking about the change and also one at the Brave forum.

All describe that Google may display “Experiencing interruptions?” in the lower left corner of the browser window on YouTube, if an ad blocker is used.

This delays the initial playback of the video by seconds, up to ten according to reports. Quick test in Brave confirmed that YouTube showed these on some videos that I tried to play. The delay was not as large, maybe a second or two for all the videos that showed the notification.

The issue is not limited to a single browser or a single content blocker. Brave is affected, as is uBlock Origin in Firefox. Updates seem to have fixed the issue for some time, but the issue seems to have reappeared.

There is not really a fix for that at the time of writing. If you are affected, you may have to wait until the filter lists get updated or the issue resolved in another way. Still, even with the delay added, it is not as bad has having to sit through the video ads that YouTube displays when you turn off your ad blocker.

The only other solution that I can think of is to download the videos instead and watch them this way.

Now You: do you watch videos on YouTube? Did you notice the delay in the past couple of weeks?

New AI Tool creates dossiers of users based on YouTube comments

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Many sites support comments. You can leave a comment under videos, articles, or in forums to add your take on something, add something that you think is missing, or, most likely, to correct the original author.

Using public comments or posts is not a new invention. In fact, it goes all the way back to the beginning days of the Internet.

Now, with the rise of new AI tools and capabilities, come tools that take this to a new level.

A report by 404 Media (paywalled) offers insights into YouTube-Tools, a new paid service that uses AI to create reports about any commenter on YouTube. The service is available for $20 per month according to the report.

Subscribers may then point the tool to the comment of any YouTuber on the site to order a detailed report about that user. The AI tool analyses the comment and other posts on the site to reveal information about the geographic location, political leanings or spoken languages.

The developer of the tool notes that it has access to a database containing information about 1.4 billion YouTube users and over 20 billion comments. While the total number of comments on YouTube is not public knowledge, YouTube has almost double the number of users according to 404 Media.

Regardless, advancements in AI pave the way for a new breed of tools that will be used for tracking and the invasion of privacy.

Internet users should be careful when they leave comments, messages or posts that are publicly accessible, especially when that comment might reveal something about them that they would not want to be linked back to them.

YouTube Premium Duo

YouTube Premium Duo: YouTube for two launches in select regions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

After announcing that YouTube Premium Lite will soon get worse with the addition of advertisement in YouTube Shorts, Google has launched another new YouTube plan.

Called YouTube Premium Duo, it is a plan for two users. Unlike the Lite plan, which includes some ads and limitations, Premium Duo offers the same functionality as the single Premium plan and YouTube Premium Family.

Price-wise, it fits right between the two as well. Subscribers in France, for example, pay 12.99 Euro per month for a single user subscription, 23.99 Euro per month for a up-to-5-users family subscription, and now 19.99 Euro per month for a two user subscription. So, seven Euro more than a single user subscription and four Euro less than a family subscription. That is about 17.50 US-Dollar converted.

YouTube Premium Duo has the same limitation as Premium Family regarding invites. Up to one household member can be invited to use YouTube Premium next to the subscriber. Google notes in the terms that all users need to have the same address and need to join a family group.

According to this post on Reddit, YouTube Premium Duo launched in just four countries and regions: Hong Kong, France, India, and Taiwan.

Here is the price of the Duo subscription in the other regions:

  • Hong Kong: 128 Honk Kong Dollar (about 16.30 US-Dollar)
  • India: 219 Indian Rupee (about 2.60 US-Dollar)
  • Taiwan: 299 Taiwan Dollar (about 10 US-Dollar)

So, for who is the new Duo plan? Couples that watch YouTube individually on different devices? Apartments shared by two? Single parents with a child old enough to watch YouTube with an account?

Now You: what is your take on all the YouTube Premium plans? Are you subscribed to one already? Let me know in the comment section below.

More ads for YouTube Premium Lite subscribers incoming

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube users who have enough of the seemingly ever-increasing bombardment with ads on the site have two official options to deal with it. Subscribe to YouTube Premium, which costs more than a Netflix subscription per month, or pick YouTube Premium Lite, if available.

YouTube Premium Lite is less expensive, at about $8 per month. For that, subscribers get less ads on YouTube. Up until now, that meant no ads in most videos. The notable exceptions were music videos and while searching for or browsing videos on the site.

Google is sending out emails to YouTube Premium Lite subscribers currently that informs them about a notable change coming to their subscription.

From June 30th, 2025 onward, subscribers will also see ads when they watch YouTube Shorts on the platform. Shorts are shorter videos that resemble videos on TikToks, Instagram and other mobile platforms.

Most videos on YouTube remain ad-free, however, according to Google’s email.

Closing Words

More ads for YouTube Premium Lite subscribers makes the plan even less attractive than it is right now. While it may not change much for many subscribers, as Shorts are a love or hate kind of type of videos, it still reduces the attractiveness of the subscription.

Subscribers may cancel at any time. Some might go back to watching YouTube with content blockers instead. It is free, and it improves privacy and security.

Google and other providers continue to test their limits. Years ago, when you paid a service for an ad-free experience, that usually meant entirely ad-free. Now, more and more services continue to charge you for a subscription and still show you ads. YouTube Premium Lite, Netflix, Disney+ and many more have introduced plans that do just that.

Now You: what is your take on all of this? Do you have a YouTube Premium subscription or another subscription that still shows ads to you when you access content?

How to take high quality screenshots of YouTube videos

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

There are quite a few ways to take a screenshot of a specific scene of any YouTube video. Sometimes, I need to get a screenshot for work, for instance to use an image as a teaser for an article.

Other YouTube users may have different reasons for wanting to capture a specific frame. Maybe because they like what they see, want to save a copy for eternity, or get a new wallpaper image.

Whatever the reason, there are several options to do that. While many require an extension, not all do.

The not-so-secret shortcut

YouTube Save Screenshot

Did you know that you can take screenshots of any YouTube video in any modern desktop browser? Here is how that works:

  1. Open the desired video in your browser of choice.
  2. Use the settings to set the video quality. The screenshot will always be in that quality.
  3. Play the video or use seek to jump to the right frame.
  4. Hold down the Shift-key, right-click twice on the video, and select “save video frame as” from the context menu that opens.
  5. Save the image to the local system.

The process described above should work in all Chromium-based browsers. Firefox users need to select “take snapshot” instead from the context menu to save the frame to the local system.

Firefox YouTube Screenshot

Second option: browser extensions

There is not really any need for using an extension to take a screenshot. The only exception is mobile use. Some browsers, Firefox for example, support extensions. This allows you to capture YouTube screens on your mobile as well, as the not-so-secret shortcut does not work on mobile.

Here are some suggestions:

There are plenty more on the official extension stores.

Spotube open source Spotify client

Spotube: open source Spotify client without ads

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

You have plenty of options when it comes to listening to music. From traditional radio and Internet radio to locally stored music, music CDs, or online services such as Spotify or YouTube.

If you like Spotify, but do not like the advertisements that come with a free account, then you might like what the open source software Spotube has to offer.

It uses music information from Spotify, but links all the music to YouTube. Means: you get most features that Spotify offers, including popular radios, mixes and whatnot, but without ads, as music is streamed from YouTube.

Spotube is a cross-platform application. It is available for the desktop systems Windows, macOS and Linux, and also the mobile operating systems Android and iOS.

Installation is straightforward. First thing you may do is sign-in to a Spotify account. You can create one or sign-in to an existing one. This is not a requirement, but your playlists, artists that you follow and albums are carried over, which means that you get direct access to them.

You may also browse Spotify’s selection of radios, mixes and other content. The only features that are not supported are Spotify Podcasts and Shows. These are only available on Spotify and require a premium subscription.

Click on the play button and music starts to play. There is a noticeable delay. It may take a few seconds before you start to hear the music, but playback was reliable during tests. Never got the wrong song or no song at all while testing the application and its features. There is an alternative track sources feature, which may help if a song is wrong or not of the best quality.

Speaking of which, features do not end here. You can create or generate playlists, like tracks, follow artists, and even download music to the local system for offline playback.

Closing Words

Spotube is an excellent option when it comes to playing music on your devices. It uses Spotify’s vast database of music, mixes, radios, and such, and combines those with freely streamed music from YouTube to avoid advertisement entirely.

Do you listen to music on your devices? If so, which services do you use? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

4K Video Downloader+ Review: solid program with a big weakness

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Internet users have plenty of options when it comes to the downloading of videos. From online services over browser extensions to programs.

Problem is: not all of them have the best interest of the user in mind. Some may be riddled with ads, track users, or limit downloads in one way or another.

You may be especially wary when it comes to programs to download. There are malicious programs out there that claim to be downloaders.

My favorite program is Internet Download Manager, but it is a commercial application. 4K Video Downloader+ offers an alternative. This review looks at the feature set and compares it to Internet Download Manager.

4K Video Downloader+ is the successor of 4K Video Downloader, which has been retired this year. The version has been around for some time. It is a freemium program that limits free use, but it does not contain any ads.

Let’s talk about the limitation first: you can use it to download 10 videos per day. All paid versions do away with the limits. A lifetime version is available for about $30.

Why download videos? Downloading videos offers several advantages:

  • Offline playback: watch videos, even if there is no Internet.
  • Backup: videos may get pulled or deleted, but offline copies remain.
  • Bad Internet reception: if Internet connectivity is not great, you may have a bad experience with stutters and pauses.
  • Save bandwidth: watch videos over and over again without using bandwidth.

4K Video Downloader 4K+: the features

The video downloader is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, and Android. You can start using it right after installation and do not need to create an account first. I used the Windows version exclusively for this review.

As far as features are concerned, there are plenty. You can paste video URLs into the interface or use the integrated browser to pick videos while you browse.

The app supports “all popular sites” according to the website. This includes YouTube, but also sites such as Facebook, SoundCloud, and others. The list of supported sites is relatively short and there is just one adult site supported. Limited support may not be a problem for some users, but it may be a dealbreaker for others.

The default configuration downloads video in best quality. You can modify the preference, for instance by switching to audio-only or a specific quality that you want downloaded to the local system.

Apart from the base functionality, 4K Video Downloader+ supports a few nice-to-have features.

Here are the highlights:

  • Subscribe to YouTube playlists or creators, and download new videos automatically as they are published.
  • Download entire YouTube playlists or channels.
  • 3D Video download support.
  • Support for login-protected media (by signing in).
  • Extract annotations and subtitles and download them along with YouTube videos.
  • Download dubbed audio on YouTube.

Free users are limited to downloading 10 videos per day. If that is not enough, you either have to wait a day or purchase a license to download an unlimited number of videos.

Verdict: 4K Video Downloader+ is an easy to use download app. The integrated browser makes downloading videos a breeze, as you do not have to juggle around with video URLs. Main downside is the 10 video limit for free accounts and the fairly limited list of supported sites.

Lack of site support is a deal-breaker for my use cases. Internet Download Manager supports hundreds if not thousands of video and audio sites. But, if all you need is support for a site that 4K Video Downloader+ supports, then it may be worth a try.

Now You: do you use video downloaders at all? If so, which is your favorite app or extension for the job and why?

Google about to roll out YouTube Lite plan in select regions

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

YouTube users who do not want to see ads have three main options until now: subscribe to YouTube Premium, use a content blocker, or a third-party app that does away with ads as well.

Most YouTube users would probably agree that there are too many ads on the site. This hurts the viewing experience and wastes a lot of time. Google is also finding new ways to show ads to users. Recently, it introduced pause ads on YouTube.

YouTube Premium Lite

Recently, Google has tested YouTube Premium Lite in select regions. Not available for everyone, the plan offers a cheaper subscription with limited functionality.

The main differences to YouTube Premium are that there are still some ads, notably on music videos, and that YouTube Music is not included. There are a couple of other restrictions. There is no option to download and play videos offline and no background play either.

Bloomberg reports today that Google plans to roll out YouTube Premium Lite in select regions. Means, anyone may subscribe to the new plan once it becomes available in a region.

YouTube Premium is available for $13.99 per month in the US currently. Pricing varies from region to region. The price of YouTube Premium Lite was about half of that during the test phase. Google has not yet announced the final price for the product. Since it is a subscription, you can be sure that it will be raised regularly.

YouTube Premium Lite will become available in select countries, including the United States, Germany, and Australia.

Who is it for? YouTube Premium Lite is for users who want an ad-free experience on YouTube, do not watch many music videos, do not need offline playback or background playback.

Yes, third-party apps like NewPipe offer all of this for free.

Now it is your turn. Is YouTube Premium Lite something that you would subscribe to? Feel free to leave a comment down below.