Ad blocker 'uBlock Origin' will soon become YouTube's 'anti-ad blocker', or just two volunteers are exhausted by harmful comments from ignorant users
Users of the ad blocker ``Adblock Plus'' are in
Youtube's Anti-adblock and uBlock Origin - And a Dinosaur
https://andadinosaur.com/youtube-s-anti-adblock-and-ublock-origin
According to app developer Jen-Yi Tan, who is closely monitoring trends in YouTube's ad blocking measures, ad blockers have been blocking YouTube ads in the following ways.
First, YouTube checks the API before the video starts playing, and the server sends content similar to the image below.
If the ad blocker rewrites it as follows, the ad will no longer be played.
This method worked for a while, but starting in early 2023, YouTube started sending fake requests to see if the responses changed. If the response changes, that means the user is using an ad blocker.
This stopped most ad blockers from working, but ad blockers like uBlock Origin and AdGuard responded by updating their filters to avoid bogus requests. However, YouTube also quickly updated the fake requests to detect ad blockers again, and the cat-and-mouse game between YouTube and ad blockers has continued ever since.
According to Mr. Tan, YouTube responds based on account, browser, IP address, etc. Therefore, if you are not logged in or using a private window, ad blocker measures may not be activated.
Mr. Tan said, ``There are many people who say, ``I use an ad blocker called ○○, but I haven't seen the anti-ad blocker pop-up yet,'' but these people are unknowingly making mistakes. We are disseminating information,' he said.
What's particularly important here is that YouTube isn't just targeting ad blockers. Specifically, flags can be raised by the extension ' Privacy Badger ' created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, by the security software ' Malwarebytes ', and by setting Edge's tracking prevention function to 'strict'.
This point creates two problems. First, if you use multiple ad blockers, you're more likely to be detected by YouTube. As mentioned above, ad blockers and YouTube repeatedly implement measures against each other, so if even one ad blocker is installed that is not up to date, it will be detected by YouTube.
Second, ad blocker support teams are inundated with reports of anti-ad blockers on YouTube, even though ad blockers aren't actually the culprit.
The development team of uBlock Origin has published
According to Mr. Tan, there are many people on the bulletin board complaining that they cannot solve the problem even if they follow this method. However, when you submit system information for troubleshooting, it often turns out that you didn't actually follow the corrective action.
In this way, non-technical users may not be able to properly understand the explanation and make noise, while some technically savvy users may be listening to the code filtered by the development team. Some people put an extra burden on themselves by doing so, making it increasingly difficult to find useful reports.
As a result, uBlock Origin team members who were trying to help users on Reddit have become overburdened, and one by one they are no longer working, Tan said. Of course, there are some people who appreciate the team at uBlock Origin, but hurtful comments have a bigger impact than good comments.
Commenting on the outcome of the cat-and-mouse game between uBlock Origin and YouTube, Mr. Tan said, ``Since May 2023, uBlock Origin and YouTube have been in a constant negotiation, especially considering that there are only two members in charge of YouTube. They have shown incredible patience. However, since all uBlock Origin team members are volunteers, there are limits. At some point, the demands become too much and they decide to leave uBlock Origin permanently. 'Perhaps this is how YouTube will win this war of attrition.'
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in Software, Posted by log1l_ks