# YouTube "forbidding" ad blockers. Concerns, if any? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 13, 2023, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493 "2023-10-13T04:54:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 30
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/581 "2025-07-17T16:11:59Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > t’s a fairly new Chromebook and I’m otherwise happy with it. Actually, it’s amazing how the quality of my experience with this chromebook has decreased since it stopped letting me use Ublock Origin. Now I’m thinking I need to move to something else entirely. and did anyone else read [this Wired article] (cross posted) ([https://archive.ph/nr39p](https://archive.ph/nr39p)): > Amid growing concerns over Big Tech firms aligning with Trump administration policies, people are starting to move their digital lives to services based overseas. Here’s what you need to know ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/582 "2025-07-17T17:00:56Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > Now I’m thinking I need to move to something else entirely. Something else like a computer (or browser) or a different way to block ads. Chrome users are migrating to other adblockers, so there should be good recommendations out there. Another option is a PiHole which will block ads on your entire network (kinda). ---
**Author:** ![jjakucyk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3d9bf3/32.png) [@jjakucyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjakucyk)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/583 "2025-07-17T17:18:28Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > AFAIK all browsers except one are based on Chromium (including Brave). Only Firefox is its own thing. Safari is not Chromium, it’s WebKit, but that won’t help you on Windows. Chromium uses the Blink engine, and while Blink is technically a fork of WebKit, that fork happened back in 2013 so they’ve diverged a lot since then. Firefox’s Gecko engine is the successor to the original Netscape Navigator. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2025, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/584 "2025-07-17T18:02:56Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > Another option is a PiHole which will block ads on your entire network (kinda). Unfortunately, PiHole can not block YouTube ads (it works at the DNS level and you can’t block YouTube ads from there…you’d effectively just be blocking all of YouTube). ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/585 "2025-07-26T16:50:45Z")
It looks like YouTube has changed the video-playing interface a little in the last couple of days (or maybe if there has been a gradual roll-out, it finally reached me). Nothing major, it looks a little more modern to me. I normally hate changes that have no apparent purpose, but this looks pretty intuitive and I don’t think I will have any problems with it. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2025, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/586 "2025-07-26T17:07:38Z")
I use Firefox with ublock origin, and I don’t notice major problems at the moment. There does seem to be sometimes a delay of several seconds before the video starts, but I’ll put up with that rather than be subjected to adverts… ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/587 "2025-08-03T00:53:03Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > For some reason Win7 with chrome doesn’t get ads. That lasted 56 days. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2025, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/588 "2025-08-03T14:34:28Z")
What has changed for me in the past few days is that, now, YouTube is constantly resetting to 1x speed. It used to be that if I was playing a video at 2x and then played another video, the speed would stay at 2x. Annoying. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/589 "2025-09-06T16:35:23Z")
It’s been 3 days on Brave which I have gotten blocked by youtube. To watch I need to open the video in a private window on Brave which is not so bad but usually any blocking that has happened in the past clears up quicker. But now I’m considering switching browsers and would like suggestions, or anything I can do with Brave to keep it working. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/590 "2025-09-06T16:47:22Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > would like suggestions Firefox with uBlock Origin. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/591 "2025-09-06T16:49:52Z")
I’m using Opera with uBlock Origin and I haven’t seen an ad for months. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/592 "2025-09-06T17:08:43Z")
That’s odd. I’ve been using brave for a few years, and YT started telling me it was going to prevent me from viewing videos if I continued with it, so eventually I turned off shields on YT. Then I read somewhere recently (probably here on the dope) that brave worked ok with YT, so I turned shields back on, and have been viewing with no ads ever since (a few weeks now). As with **xtenkfarpl** above, there is often a longer delay now before a video will start, and a little popup saying something like “Experiencing delays ? click here to find out why”. I clicked it once and it just showed a page showing various reasons - eg slow internet connection, but nothing about ad blocking. No doubt it will all change again soon. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/593 "2025-09-06T21:41:06Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > I’m using Opera with uBlock Origin and I haven’t seen an ad for months. Ditto here. I do get delays opening videos, which has gotten worse in the past couple of days. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2025, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/594 "2025-09-06T22:05:20Z")
I get the “experiencing delays” popup every so often. I’m pretty sure these are just high traffic moments. They’re infrequent enough that they don’t bother me. I did run into a problem where I had too many tabs open at once and a few videos started randomly cutting off. The next time I updated Brave, it blanked out a whole bunch of tabs and I didn’t have this problem again. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/595 "2025-11-17T12:09:46Z")
a “new one” for me on YT: I regularily watch (non music) YT vids at 1.25 or 1.5 its original speed (makes for more “efficient” use of my time for me 😉 ) … but for the past couple of days, the reproduction-speed is fixed to 1 … (cant go to 1.25 or 1.5 like you normally can, even though the option is available but somewhat "greyed out”) … my workaround: copy/pasting the URL in an incognito window - and there I still have that option … go figure … do you experience the same? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/596 "2025-11-17T12:30:24Z")
I just tried it, I had no problem, all the playback speeds were available. I’m using uBlock Origin. ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/597 "2025-11-17T12:41:08Z")
> [@Al128](#): > > but for the past couple of days, the reproduction-speed is fixed to 1 … (cant go to 1.25 or 1.5 like you normally can, even though the option is available but somewhat "greyed out”) … If you refresh the page the speed options come back. ---
**Author:** ![Al128](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/al128/32/16541_2.png) [@Al128](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Al128)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/598 "2025-11-17T13:22:52Z")
interesting …. refreshing the page really brought it back … so it seems to be a bug rather than an act of enshitification … thx for that tip, you bring back valueable minutes to me life! ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2025, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/599 "2025-11-17T13:53:14Z")
I know I’m many months too late, but if it’s a modern Chromebook, it’s pretty easy to turn on Linux support and then download the Linux version of Brave. There are lots of easy-to-follow guides, if you’re not comfortable using Linux. The problem for me with the Brave or Firefox android app running on a Chromebook is that they weren’t really designed for that interface. The Linux version of Brave works just fine. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493/600 "2025-12-07T19:40:08Z")
More than one “weird” behavior by YouTube: (Windows 10, Opera browser, uBlock Origin) First, the thumbnails. YouTube had set it to show three thumbnails across, even though I prefer four. Then it switched by itself to four. Then back to three, and back and forth for a while. Now it’s back to three and has stayed that way for a while. Now, the top row of thumbnails is cut off at the top. Yes, I have the page scrolled all the way up (towards the top). Since neither of these are anything other than slightly inconvenient, I’m not going to try to do anything about them. I assume they are interactions between YouTube code changes and uBlock Origin. As long as I’m not seeing ads, I’m okay with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493.md?page=29) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/youtube-forbidding-ad-blockers-concerns-if-any/991493.md?page=31)