YouTube and ad blockers: Google’s strategy could push users to turn to… Firefox

What if the Mozilla Foundation’s commitment to protecting the privacy of Internet users became a winning strategy?

For some time now, Google has been increasing its efforts to prevent advertising blocking on the internet. If the impact on users was minimal until now, things have taken a completely different turn since recent developments on YouTube’s side.

The number of ad blockers installed and uninstalled has, in fact, increased tenfold in recent weeks, and it seems that extensions for Firefox are the big survivors of this new battle.

A mass exodus

You’re probably one of those who got rid of your ad blockers for the first time in years. If these tools have not been made completely inoperable, their use on YouTube has become almost obsolete. The platform has decided to lock access to its content for any visitor using it, and its script is extremely effective. Maybe even a little too much, according to some Internet privacy advocates.

However, these uninstallations are not permanent. At least, they seem to be followed by the acquisition of other ad blockers. After years of viewing without ads, users don’t seem to want to change their habits, and are trying every possible solution to maintain them.

However, on Chrome and browsers using its extensions market, the solution seems impossible, and the battle won in advance for the American giant. Except on a certain… Firefox.

A situation that puts Firefox back in the spotlight

The situation with ad blockers seems, in fact, to take a particular turn on the red panda browser. For several months, Google has been pushing extension developers to adopt Manifest V3, which complicates the work of tools like AdBlock. If the Mozilla Foundation has also decided to adopt these new rules, it has also made a certain number of modifications to allow, among other things, this type of extension to work as before.

Direct consequence or not, certain tools like uBlock Origin continue to work perfectly and discreetly on YouTube. Other extensions have also quickly gained popularity, such as YT Siphon, which allows you to watch a video via an alternative frontend using a simple keyboard shortcut.

Confidentiality, the right strategy?

Mozilla’s decision is driven by the need to protect the privacy of its users, and its approach may well be a winning one. If data protection is not a sufficient argument for most Internet users when choosing a web browser, the question of advertising on YouTube could be of a completely different order.

It remains to be seen, therefore, whether Firefox will gain popularity in the coming months. But, whatever happens, the alternative Internet promoted by more and more organizations and companies could gradually gain interest for users who until now had little interest in these issues. This would not suit the web giants, who seek to protect their economic model while trying to maintain a virtuous image.

Source : Android Authority