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If you were wondering, it looks like YouTube’s moves to combat ad blockers are paying off.
But instead of whitelisting the platform in their program, users uninstall them altogether. Thus, in October, several major ad blockers recorded a record number of uninstallations. And they blame YouTube for this situation.
Massive uninstallations
In testing since last June, the ban on the use of ad blockers on YouTube was officially implemented last week. When a person who has an ad-block wants to watch a video on the platform, a message indicating that the use of this program “violates YouTube’s terms of use” is now displayed. YouTube then offers instructions for accessing the content while maintaining this program. However, most users seem to have simply deleted it, according to Wired.
AdGuard, which has around 75 million active users, usually sees around 6,000 uninstalls per day. Since October 9, and until the end of the month, when YouTube’s new policy took effect, the average number of uninstalls exceeded 11,000 per day. It even reached 52,000 in a single day, October 18. On the other hand, subscriptions to AdGuard’s paid service have increased, as it is not affected by YouTube’s crackdown.
Ghostery, an ad blocker based in Germany, reports quite similar results: the number of uninstalls increased three to five times in October. When asked about the reasons for their departure, more than 90% of users indicated that YouTube’s new policy was the cause.
More and more advertising on YouTube
It is difficult to obtain precise information, because most ad blockers do not collect data on their users, in the name of protecting their privacy. However, the Chrome extensions store allows you to track installations and uninstallations. So, if we stick to AdGuard’s numbers alone, that represents more than 300,000 removals. Adding in Ghostery and other ad blockers for which there is no data, we arrive at at least half a million removals.
This ban on ad blockers comes at a time when advertising on YouTube is undergoing significant changes. Last month, the company changed the way ads are displayed to viewers, resulting in longer – but less frequent – ad breaks.
This change should make it easier for content creators to promote products – meaning there will be even more ads on YouTube.
YouTube without ads, it’s almost over
Of course, there are always ways to avoid ads on YouTube. The Internet is full of tips and browser recommendations to help you continue watching YouTube ad-free.
It should be noted that the measures taken by YouTube have not yet been applied to all ad blockers. But YouTube’s intention is clear: this policy will apply to everyone soon.
So if your program isn’t affected yet, it probably will be soon.
Source: ZDNet.com