YouTube has started blocking adblock users worldwide

YouTube has started blocking users who block ads worldwide. In some cases, they cannot watch videos until they allow advertisements or take out a subscription.

YouTube calls it a ‘global effort’ to reduce the number of users with ad blockers, reports The Verge. This is an extension of an experiment from June, in which YouTube carried out an adblock check on a small group of users.

Users affected may be unable to watch videos on the platform until they disable their ad blocker or whitelist YouTube. Google reasons that YouTube depends on advertisements. In addition, the use of ad blockers goes against the terms of the platform, the service says. A subscription has become less attractive in the Benelux due to the recent disappearance of the cheapest option, Premium Lite.

YouTube: turn off your ad blocker, October 2023