YouTube continues its efforts to counter ad-blocking tools. The platform announces a tightening of its policy towards certain third-party applications.
Google is opening a new front in its vast offensive against tools that block ads on YouTube. In a step point On April 15, a manager of the video platform reported a tougher approach to third-party applications, particularly those that allow ads to be hidden.
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“ Viewers using these third-party apps may experience loading issues or see the error 'the following content is not available on this app' when trying to watch a video “, warns YouTube. “ We would like to point out that our terms do not allow third-party applications to disable advertisements. »
The warning targets both programs that can be used on the computer and those on mobile phones. No specific name is given, but applications like LibreTube, NewPipe or SkyTube are at risk. The same goes for certain browsers, which may or may not include extensions, such as Brave or Firefox.
According to YouTube, these practices deprive content creators of receiving their fair share by monetizing their audience. It is also a way for the platform to finance itself and “ enabling billions of people around the world to use the streaming service. » Advertising is YouTube's main source of income, according to Google.
The party is over with ad blockers?
For years, there has been a dissension between YouTube, which works to make money with this platform, and a large part of Internet users, who try to avoid these advertisements. A 2020 estimate gave the color: 40% of adults in the United States would use an ad blocker. The percentage is considerable.
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This is a major challenge for Google, YouTube's parent company, since advertising also represents the vast majority of its revenue. For a long time, American society did not carry out a truly marked offensive against adblockers. However, the tone changed from 2023, with the first experiments starting in the spring.
Since then, the American company has confirmed and extended its response to encourage Internet users to accept viewing the ads – or to take out a YouTube Premium subscription to not see them. This, to the great dismay of many Internet users, who sometimes come across warnings and are no longer able to play the videos.