YouTube is now completely blocking ad blockers after months of back and forth and testing its new anti-adblocker mechanism. The streaming giant is encouraging users to subscribe to YouTube Premium, which now costs $13.99 per month.
What Happened: The Alphabet Inc.-owned GOOG GOOGL YouTube has confirmed that it is rolling out the anti-adblock policy around the world, months after testing it out.
"The use of ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service. We've launched a global effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience," a YouTube spokesperson told The Verge.
YouTube's crackdown on ad blockers is not new or surprising – the Google-owned company had earlier shut down several YouTube video and audio download websites, and later also went after a third-party patched version of its app that was available for Android users.
The video streaming service started cracking down on adblock users on the web back in August. YouTube started testing a countdown timer and a 3-strike system for adblock users, asking them to either pay up or disable their ad blockers on YouTube.
“Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers,” Google spokesperson Oluwa Falodun said at the time.
Now, the YouTube anti-adblock policy is being rolled out worldwide and the company is encouraging users to subscribe to YouTube Premium. Coincidentally, YouTube Premium now costs $13.99 per month, after the company hiked the prices from $11.99 earlier.
Why It Matters: YouTube's crackdown on adblock users comes at a time when streaming services have all announced price hikes, including Netflix Inc. NFLX, Walt Disney Co.'s DIS Disney+, and Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max, among others.
The YouTube Premium subscription gives users an ad-free experience, enables background playback, allows users to download videos, and also supports creators who get a percentage of the subscription.
Image credits – Shutterstock
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