Another Scandal: YouTube tightens grip on Ad Blockers

YouTube has tightened restrictions on ad blockers by closing another loophole in Firefox. The platform reminds us once again: either watch ads or sign up for a Premium subscription.

It was reported by 9to5Mac.

How YouTube has once again tightened the rules on the use of ad blockers

Last year, the service clearly outlined its policy: from now on, watching videos without ads is only possible with a paid subscription. If the viewer has an ad blocker enabled, playback stops until it is disabled, which effectively stopped many popular extensions from working even then.

Despite this, users continued to look for workarounds. Recently, YouTube has strengthened its defences, with the messages "Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube" and "Ad blockers violate YouTube's terms of service" appearing on screens again in large numbers.

The new wave of discussions has sparked on social media and Reddit, with some blaming the service for its "monopoly" and others calling on Google to "stop fighting" and allow third-party extensions.

At the same time, YouTube insists that advertising or subscriptions are the main sources of income for content creators. The company is preparing for a long-term "race" with blocker developers, which is unlikely to end quickly.

As a reminder, YouTube's interface is constantly changing — the feed is filled with Shorts, new experimental designs appear, and the number of ads is growing, which often interferes with comfortable viewing. At the same time, there are simple solutions that can help make the platform more discreet and focused on your interests.

We also wrote that despite all the changes, YouTube remains the most convenient platform for watching videos, but sometimes you need to save a video for offline access. There are simple and free ways to do this that don't require any additional software or account.