A Recap on YouTube’s War Against Ad Blockers
About a month ago, we reported that YouTube had begun testing server-side ads. In the past year, YouTube has aggressively cracked down on ad blockers in an attempt to promote its YouTube Premium subscription, which starts at $13.99 per month. With strategies such as artificial video delays, anti-ad-block prompts, and automatic video skipping, YouTube has made it challenging for users who prefer ad-free streaming using ad blockers.
The Rise of Server-Side Ads
In a bid to thwart ad blockers, YouTube decided to inject server-side ads directly into videos. Unlike traditional ads that can be blocked separately, these embedded ads pose a greater challenge for existing ad-blocking technology. However, ad blockers like uBlock Origin have continually updated their filters to tackle these new forms of advertisements, albeit with occasional bugs and interruptions.
The Black Screen Issue
Recently, users have reported encountering a black screen when trying to watch videos on YouTube—a problem that reportedly lasts about six seconds before the video starts playing. This issue has been noted across multiple browsers, including Firefox, Edge, and Vivaldi. Although some users joked that they would prefer a black screen over ads, this interruption can be frustrating. A simple workaround is to refresh the page (hit F5) as soon as the black screen appears. Additionally, uBlock Origin’s updated filters should resolve most of these problems automatically.
Ongoing Efforts and FreeTube Update
Despite Google’s ongoing battle against ad blockers, it appears that user determination remains strong. The black screen issue is similar to a problem encountered by users of FreeTube, a YouTube client, which was quickly resolved in an update. Google’s strategies, while aimed at increasing YouTube Premium subscriptions, seem to be inadvertently promoting the use of ad blockers.
As a side note, Google Chrome users may notice a warning stating, “these extensions may soon no longer be supported.” For further details, we recommend reading Martin’s comprehensive article on the matter.
