I’m sure many of you are already aware that YouTube has been rolling out anti-adblock detection for Chrome users for a few weeks now.
Today, as a long time Firefox user with the fantastic uBlock Origin extension installed, I got my first anti-adblock popup on the platform. Note that this may not happen to you personally for a while, but it is inevitably coming for everyone.
Thankfully, the fine folks at uBlock Origin have already advised a simple workaround (on Reddit, yuck!) which I will duplicate in a simplified form below for your convenience. I have tested it on Firefox and it is working fine for me (so far).
PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW ALL OF THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THIS POST.
Update uBO to the latest version (1.52.0+) . <== The extension itself, for technical improvements. You do this in your browser.
Remove your custom config / reset to defaults. <== This means removing your custom filters (or disabling My filters) and disabling ALL additional lists you’ve enabled. It might be quicker to make a backup of your config and restore to defaults instead.
Force an update of your Filter Lists. <== This is within the extension. Lists are what determine what’s blocked or not. How to update Filter lists: Click 🛡️ uBO’s icon > the ⚙ Dashboard button > the Filter lists pane > the 🕘 Purge all caches button > the 🔃 Update now button.
Disable all other extensions AND your browser’s built-in blockers. <== No need to uninstall, just disable them. They might interfere with our solutions.
Make sure you follow all 4 points above. If you’re seeing the message, it’s likely due to your custom config (either additional lists or separate filters in My filters).
Restarting your browser afterwards may help too.
Once you’ve gotten rid of the issue on default settings, you can slowly start restoring your config (if you really need it). Do it gradually, to easier find out what was causing the issue in the first place. Once you find the culprit, simply skip it in your config.
If you want to use Enhancer for YouTube*, you have to* disable its adblocking*.*
May the force uBlock Origin be with you!
Update
Just wanted to mention a few things that have been pointed out in the comments:
- There are quite a few projects that provide an alternative ad-free front end to YouTube. These include Invidious, FreeTube, LibreTube, Newpipe, Revanced, and I’m sure there are several more options I’ve missed. I don’t have any particular preference really but I routinely use NewPipe on my cellphone just because I tried it once and couldn’t be bothered trying all the others.
- In step 4 listed above, to clarify, afaik you only need to remove adblocker extensions (if you have more than one installed) that might conflict with the uBlock Origin rules and trigger the anti-adblock, not all extensions.
- If you hate non-stop ads but want to support your favorite content creators then be sure to give them some love on Patreon or whatever alternative options they provide. Creators typically make only a tiny, tiny fraction of what YouTube makes in ad revenue, assuming YouTube doesn’t just outright steal the lot, and it’s a shitty business model that’s ruining the internet. Even if you watch the ads, you’re only supporting YouTube most of the time, not the creators.
Okay, this context helps. I think a lot of people who hate apple do so blindly but also a lot of people who hate apple have decades of reasons piling up. I started in the former camp, having a general distaste for Macs because they were pretty intentionally not interoperable with other computers. When I discovered they had become much less like that in the OSX era (early 2000s), I got really really fond of the OS. Since those days, they’ve done quite a lot of annoying and shitty things to the Mac os, but more importantly, their mobile products are designed very much to prevent interoperability. It’s the business model. Pretend every other product sucks and yours is best, but you really just worked extra to prevent smooth operation with other products.
Apple is on my shit list these days since most of their decisions are corporate asshole ones, designed to make them profit at the expense of users or even society at large. They likely would’ve never even adopted usb-c on their mobile devices had the EU not forced them. They’re a pretty garbage company. I say this fully acknowledging that Mac os is still pretty good despite the bonehead decisions. I do often feel that they keep ruining it slowly though.
I think the whole USB-C business is the worst example of an axe to grind with Apple. Who says that standard must be the only one? The EU have forced something that didn’t need to be forced. I’ve got a household full of Apple gadgets and no USB-C, so when we do update something later than iPhone 15 and it has that connector, it will be the only one, and no other charges will work with it expect any adapters I might have from C to A. I just don’t get it that it was that important.
The EU absolutely made the right call. If your household wasn’t entirely apple ecosystem it would fully make sense why all devices should conform to a connector standard. You’d be maddened by it. In fact your anxiety about how this will play out is precisely the reason this needed to happen years ago. People with android devices have been experiencing that same annoyance for years now every time a friend visits who forgot their iPhone cable.