I'm sure many of you are already aware that YouTube has been rolling out anti-adblock detection for Chrome users for a few weeks now.
Today, as a long time Firefox user with the fantastic uBlock Origin extension installed, I got my first anti-adblock popup on the platform. Note that this may not happen to you personally for a while, but it is inevitably coming for everyone.
Thankfully, the fine folks at uBlock Origin have already advised a simple workaround (on Reddit, yuck!) which I will duplicate in a simplified form below for your convenience. I have tested it on Firefox and it is working fine for me (so far).
PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS POST.
Update uBO to the latest version (1.52.0+) . <== The extension itself, for technical improvements. You do this in your browser.
Remove your custom config / reset to defaults. <== This means removing your custom filters (or disabling My filters) and disabling ALL additional lists you've enabled. It might be quicker to make a backup of your config and restore to defaults instead.
Force an update of your Filter Lists. <== This is within the extension. Lists are what determine what's blocked or not. How to update Filter lists: Click 🛡️ uBO's icon > the ⚙ Dashboard button > the Filter lists pane > the 🕘 Purge all caches button > the 🔃 Update now button.
Disable all other extensions AND your browser's built-in blockers. <== No need to uninstall, just disable them. They might interfere with our solutions.
Make sure you follow all 4 points above. If you're seeing the message, it's likely due to your custom config (either additional lists or separate filters in My filters).
Restarting your browser afterwards may help too.
Once you've gotten rid of the issue on default settings, you can slowly start restoring your config (if you really need it). Do it gradually, to easier find out what was causing the issue in the first place. Once you find the culprit, simply skip it in your config.
If you want to use Enhancer for YouTube*, you have to* disable its adblocking*.*
May the ~~force~~ uBlock Origin be with you!
Update
Just wanted to mention a few things that have been pointed out in the comments:
- There are quite a few projects that provide an alternative ad-free front end to YouTube. These include Invidious, FreeTube, LibreTube, Newpipe, Revanced, and I'm sure there are several more options I've missed. I don't have any particular preference really but I routinely use NewPipe on my cellphone just because I tried it once and couldn't be bothered trying all the others.
- In step 4 listed above, to clarify, afaik you only need to remove adblocker extensions (if you have more than one installed) that might conflict with the uBlock Origin rules and trigger the anti-adblock, not all extensions.
- If you hate non-stop ads but want to support your favorite content creators then be sure to give them some love on Patreon or whatever alternative options they provide. Creators typically make only a tiny, tiny fraction of what YouTube makes in ad revenue, assuming YouTube doesn't just outright steal the lot, and it's a shitty business model that's ruining the internet. Even if you watch the ads, you're only supporting YouTube most of the time, not the creators.
PSA: skirting their attempts to block ad blockers if you have a Google account you would rather keep may be unwise.
Google has been known for banning people for stupid crap, and this checks all the boxes.
While they were silent on this topic there was a gentlemen's agreement that you could block ads. But now that they have voiced their opinion the jig is up.
I'd recommend people to use an alternative account if they are going to block anyway and they want to keep their gmail.
https://takeout.google.com
Download your data while you still can.
For things like ReVanced, they have been disabling Youtube per account. So what you are saying may have some weight if they feel like that's the next logical step
They have?
While I have seen a few instances like this on Reddit, they were always at least 6 month old posts, and none that's from the recent ad crisis. So yeah, not much to conclude here imo.
Also please note that just using an incognito window or different container may not cut it. Google is not above using your IP or browser fingerprinting to identify you.
If you have Google on your phone (and you probably do) and both your phone and your PC are connecting from the same IP that already narrows it down for them considerably.
You don't even have to access youtube on the phone. Google Services Framework reports everything about your phone all the time even if you don't actually do anything on it to do with Google. Simply having an Android phone at home and connected to the internet at the same time as your PC will identify you.
I'm not saying resistance is futile... but Google is one of the largest privacy predators out there and this thing will get worse before it will get better. Expect some fallout.
I have heard of them banning people from YouTube over this, but I have not heard of them banning them from all of their other Google services. I'm not saying you're lying here, just saying I personally have not seen any reports on this (but I have seen reports of YouTube-only bans).
I pay for Drive and have a ton of shit on there, and I use gmail as my primary email (not my only email) for a lot of logins and such. My plan is to just stop using YouTube, they better not ban my whole account because I use an ad blocker.
The really frustrating thing for me was I was paying for YouTube Premium until they jacked the price up AGAIN and then I was like nope, I'm out. I can live just fine without YouTube and its horrible ads.
Out of fear of losing access to my accounts I've been moving them out of Gmail as the central point of control. I suggest other people do this too.
This sucks, I have a LOT of online accounts that use that email as the login email (not federated, just as the login) and it's going to be a giant PITA to change them all. Thanks, Google.
Just do a bit at a time. I even installed a desktop email manager to help me with it, since it's easier to switch between the two accounts in a single application versus having the two webpages up.
Also, if you use a password manager you'll be able to filter your database by email since email address = account login credential in most cases.
Thank you for the tips and suggestions! I have already started the process and thankfully, I do use Bitwarden and it does indeed make filtering the accounts easier.
I'm glad I almost never use federated accounts for logins. I understand the convenience and security of using them, so I'm not against them in concept...but then there's the putting too many eggs in one basket risk with doing it.
Google has banned whole accounts of some users for copy pasting comments on Youtube chat (similar to what people do on Twitch).
https://9to5google.com/2019/11/09/google-account-bans-youtube-emote-spam-markiplier
I wouldn't gamble on it.
I'm not super worried about them banning me (from a probability standpoint). But it would be highly disruptive to my life if they did. So from the general principal of not keeping too many eggs in one basket, I have already started disconnecting other non-Google accounts from my gmail address.