- By Vikas Yadav
- Mon, 17 Jun 2024 02:13 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
YouTube has been cracking down on ad blocker platforms in recent times to push more people to buy premium or watch videos with ads. In a recent move, SponsorBlock reported the company is experimenting with "server-side ad injection", which puts an ad directly into a video stream. Amid these reports, the company has confirmed it is testing an update that could hamper the experience of people who use ad blockers, as per TechCrunch.
According to the report, the update may bring a "suboptimal viewing experience" to the affected people, and Google reiterated that ad blockers violate the platform's Terms of Service. Users can subscribe to YouTube Premium to watch videos ad-free on the platform. The service is "improving its performance and reliability in serving both organic and ad video content," the company told the news outlet in a statement.
This is among the company's fresh attempts to curb the use cases of ad blockers on YouTube. In a recent move, the company started rolling out a pop-up message that prevents users from watching videos if an ad blocker is enabled. Meanwhile, the server-side update breaks SponsorBlock as the "timestamps are offset by the ad times".
While the ad blocker platform will not work with the latest experiment, ways to find the specified timestamp of an ad duration may crop up in the future. While videos and ads are separate elements in the current scenario, ads will be a part of the video and tough to distinguish for ad blockers in the future.
Speaking of YouTube Premium, the subscription offers ad-free, offline and background listening on the platform. The individual plan for the service starts from Rs 129 per month. Family and Student plans cost Rs 189 per month and 79 per month. YouTube Music Premium is also a part of the YouTube Premium subscription.