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YouTube, the popular video-sharing platform, is taking extreme measures to discourage the use of ad blockers among its users. In a recent internal test, the company is experimenting with a feature that could lead to the temporary disabling of videos for those who have ad blockers enabled. This move comes as YouTube aims to uphold its Terms of Service, which state that ad blockers violate their policies. Considering that ad blockers provide some much-needed relief to users, this will be a really unpleasant thing to do.
The discovery of this test was first made by a Reddit user, and YouTube has since confirmed the experiment’s existence. According to a spokesperson from the company, the experiment is being conducted on a global scale, The Verge reported. When users with ad blockers enabled attempt to watch videos on the platform, they will be prompted to allow ads or consider subscribing to YouTube Premium.
It’s worth noting that ad blocker detection is not a novel concept, as other publishers also encourage viewers to disable ad blockers when accessing their content. YouTube’s stance is clear – it takes a serious view on disabling video playback but will only resort to this measure if users repeatedly ignore the notifications to allow ads.
In response to concerns about potential false flagging of users using ad blockers, the company encourages affected viewers to provide feedback by clicking on a link in the prompt. YouTube says it is striving very hard to ensure fairness in this process.
This recent development comes in the wake of YouTube’s previous experiments with ad presentation. In September 2022, the platform tested up to 10 unskippable clicks within a single ad break, which received mixed feedback from users. Additionally, in May of the same year, YouTube announced the introduction of 30-second ads on TV platforms, causing some dissatisfaction among its user base.
To provide an ad-free experience, YouTube offers a Premium subscription plan, with pricing starting at Rs.129 in India. However, the platform relies heavily on ad revenue, and the declining ad revenue in the past three quarters may have prompted this new initiative to address the issue of ad blockers.
As of now, the impact of this experiment is limited to a small number of users, and YouTube has not disclosed the exact number of participants or the regions involved in the test. Depending on the results, the experiment may be expanded to a broader audience globally if deemed effective in curbing ad blocker usage.
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