YouTube's anti-adblock rollout has finally arrived for Firefox users

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.

  1. Update uBO to the latest version (1.52.0+) . <== The extension itself, for technical improvements. You do this in your browser.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
vodkasolution,

It’s said no one said users could move to other platforms like dailymotion - I know it’s irrilevant nowadays compared to youtube, but from time to time I find good videos there

oyenyaaow,

Louis Rossman said in one of his video that at his views level it would cost him ~10k a year to host outside of youtube.

Blackmist,

I think any popular video platform will do the same shit. It’s just expensive to host on a large scale.

Realistically, we need a good P2P solution for this so everyone “pays” for the videos they watch with a bit of their own outgoing bandwidth.

Having the viewing platform paying the content creators is a bad idea. It’s mostly led to the video equivalent of spam, and looking around YouTube, it doesn’t stop them filling their own videos with ads for godawful exploitative mobile games anyway.

You could even have a Tubarr torrent thing that automatically downloads stuff to your Jellyfin server from your subscribed content creators.

andycarolan,
@andycarolan@social.lol avatar

@Flatworm7591 Many people will refuse to pay the high price of YouTube Premium or suffer through multiple pre and midroll adverts. It could lead to many abandoning the platform entirely.

I think the way forward is self or federated hosting. The time of YouTube may finally be coming to a close. @neil

jinarched,
@jinarched@lemm.ee avatar

If it comes to a point it’s very hard to avoid ads, I’m genuinely contemplating podcasts as an alternative.

andycarolan,
@andycarolan@social.lol avatar

@jinarched Podcasts are good. I consume quite a few on various subjects inc Paranormal, Music, Video Games etc.

Also, I would rather directly donate or subscribe to a creator I enjoy rather than going through YouTube as a middle entity that only feeds them scraps.

Sanrasxz,
@Sanrasxz@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

The time of YouTube may finally be coming to a close.

Yes, and Reddit is dead. This is delusional, simply not happening. YouTube is huge and a self hosted or federated solution won’t come even close. Lemmy instances had issues with user overload, and this is a Reddit clone. What do you think will happen with videos?

andycarolan,
@andycarolan@social.lol avatar

@Sanrasxz Yup, and Twitter was too big to fail.

baldissara,

What are the yt federated alternatives?

andycarolan,
@andycarolan@social.lol avatar

@baldissara There's not many, but Peertube is one of the better known ones. https://peertube.tv

artaxadepressedhorse,
@artaxadepressedhorse@lemmyngs.social avatar

I can’t justify a subscription bc my activity is very inconsistent. Sometimes I watch several vids on YT, sometimes I go long periods without going there, so I’m not gonna pay for something I don’t use half the time. If YT had a system where you could buy credits or something that don’t expire, then, depending on their cost, I could see myself actually paying to use their platform.

andycarolan,
@andycarolan@social.lol avatar

@artaxadepressedhorse That's a really good point, subs for people who don't use a service all the time are poor value.

The problem with YouTube is that they are one of the most overpriced streaming platforms out there. I imagine any credit system would be the same.

mindbleach,

So, Youtube’s dying.

Maybe not right now. Maybe not next year. But they’ve decided to make everybody miserable, for a “business” that still won’t cause enough misery to turn a profit.

Meanwhile creators are censored worse than broadcast TV. Nevermind the effective ban on swearing - they can’t even reference concepts without a surveillance program declaring that their latest video doesn’t count, even though they’ll still slap ads all over that bitch.

Those people have things they want to share with an audience that wants to see. Any middleman can either help, or become irrelevant. Bandwidth is cheap. Some creators are just in it for the money… but the money is bad, on Youtube, and it’s getting worse. Patreon is more direct and far less stupid. As with all these lumbering ruins of 2010s internet media, the network effect of being the default will keep them relevant for a while, no matter what they do. Twitter’s on fire and it’s still not dead. But its prospects sure aren’t getting better… and not because people changed.

People are sadly predictable. These idiot robots exploit that masterfully, to a point, and then act bewildered when more pressure stops making more money. Like they forgot we can just leave.

ExLisper,

WTF are you talking about? 99% of users watch YT with adds. It will not die because the other 1% stops watching.

Paradoxvoid,
@Paradoxvoid@aussie.zone avatar

Like legit, some of these comments are utterly deranged. YouTube has ZERO competition in the mass market consumer space, everyone else is a niche player, and it’s debatable whether YouTube even turns a profit despite that.

ExLisper,

What do you mean it’s debatable if YT turns a profit? They make billions a year in ads according to their reports. You think they are lying?

Paradoxvoid,
@Paradoxvoid@aussie.zone avatar

Revenue, sure - I don’t believe Google shares profit numbers for Youtube separately to the rest of the portfolio. I could be misinformed though.

ExLisper,

From a quick ddg it does. YT makes around 20 billion a year in ad revenue.

Paradoxvoid,
@Paradoxvoid@aussie.zone avatar

Again, revenue. They report revenue because it’s a nice big number, but it’s different to profit (which is why a lot of people suspect they don’t make much actual money, if any).

mindbleach,

99% of former Facebook users didn’t block ads - but they still left. They found other shit to do. People who’ve somehow never blocked ads still complain about ads. They still recognize how advertising shapes the things they like, and they hate it.

Nobody enjoys being interrupted with repetitive corporate bullshit. Nobody’s thrilled when three-minute videos get dragged out to ten minutes and one second, or when punchy edited conversations sprawl into rambling podcasts, or when recipes start with the chef’s life story. They don’t need to know why these things happen, to know they don’t care.

Even if, god help us, Youtube remains the video-hosting site - spacing out to hours of passive content does not have to be how people spend their time.

Epicurus0319,

And they don’t even censor the right people. They have these algorithms that keep on recommending videos designed to teach preteens that it’s “based” to:

  • be cartoonishly homophobic to the point that gays live in your head rent free
  • support the war in Ukraine because it hates gays slightly less than Russia does
  • feel entitled to sex, getting mad when a guy of another ethnicity successfully hits on their crush because they never made a move

Which then ends with them joining and donating family funds that aren’t theirs to Andrew Tate’s little incel cult, blasting the soviet anthem on the bus and then getting mad when nobody laughs and/or with gay kids bullied to the point of suicide.

EmperorHenry,
@EmperorHenry@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

adguard for desktop with anti-adblock killer

JustCopyingOthers,

I wonder what made youTube decide to fix this loophole? These days the vast majority of people use phone apps or smart TVs to watch. The number of people using Firefox plus ad blockers must be quite small and it’ll be a constant effort to keep updating their anti ad block algorithms.

oyenyaaow,

maybe this problem is more than it really is, maybe youtube really really needs eyes on ads.

ExLisper,

Maybe they want to start pushing ads harder and are afraid that more people will discover ad blockers? Once people switch it may be harder to bring them back. So you first close all the exists and than start increasing ads per minute. Because where will everyone go? There’s no where else. Ad blockers are the only option really.

jherazob,
@jherazob@beehaw.org avatar

A LOT of companies have pushed hard on the enshittification pedal lately, apparently it has to do with interest rates or something like that, i guess it also affects Google

Schadrach,

The number of people using Firefox plus ad blockers must be quite small

Hmm, apparently either it’s not fully spread to all users yet, or AdGuard + MalwareBytes gets around it automatically. Of course, I also run Anti-Adblock Blocker, Bypass Paywalls Clean and Sponsorblock so it could be one of those stopping it from bothering me either.

artaxadepressedhorse,
@artaxadepressedhorse@lemmyngs.social avatar

They’re probably just trying to prevent any user momentum away from Chrome from gaining traction. Ensure there remains no better options for the people who don’t care about privacy or ethics (which sadly is the bulk of ppl)

Boozilla,
@Boozilla@lemmy.world avatar

Pure speculation on my part, but large corporations like Google always have endless meetings full of people just looking for any kind of shit to justify their jobs. I figured it was inevitable before some goons there put their sites on ad blockers and am surprised it took this long. After all, those of us that use them (including me) are using their resources without giving them any revenue in return. (Well, that’s not entirely true, I was a Premium subscriber until they hiked the price again).

cassidyslivers,

Been using Individous Instances for a while now, I feel it’ll be staying that way for sometime to come.

programmer_belch,
@programmer_belch@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Using the libredirect extension for firefox is another option for using invidious

Helmic,

Libredirect in general is fantastic, a lot of shit websites become so much more usable. In particular not having to use Fandom is a godsend, that website in particular is just awful.

doctorcrimson,

RIP I was finally getting some exposure with breadmaking shorts and now the platform’s on it’s knees.

MenacingPerson,

You can totally switch to an alternative.

doctorcrimson,

Odysee kind of has a white supremacy problem, and also is financed by a crypto scheme so…

I really wish there were a proper alternative that just feels like an even slightly less evil version of YouTube but there currently is not.

crowseye,
@crowseye@lemmy.ml avatar

Just got my first pop-up on Linux. Interestingly on Firefox with uBlock it still plays, no ads. However, on LibreWolf with uBlock it keeps endlessly loading the video ad for Grammarly but it wont play.

RandallFlagg,

so in order to make this work, i have to disable all my other extentions? lol

cuenca,

download a video and watch it - without any adverts

crowseye,
@crowseye@lemmy.ml avatar

I have been doing this for awhile. 4K Downloader fetches the videos from the subscriptions I want and I watch them on Jellyfin when I get home from work.

cows_are_underrated,

Got my first popup today, but apart from it being annoying literally nothing changed. Still no ads.

Gorillatactics,

I better start watching all the videos I bookmarked over the years.

Nommer,

Hey Google, maybe you assholes should realize that if people are willing to jump through this many hoops to not watch ads then maybe you should realize that ads are the problem, not users. Nobody wants ads shoved down their throat so kindly go fuck yourselves. Advertising is a cancer. I’ve been trying to convince people how dangerous attention grabbing billboards are but nobody seems to care.

mrmanager,
@mrmanager@lemmy.today avatar

But hey, richest company in the world need to eat ok?

/s

cows_are_underrated,

There’s no fucking way I gonna watch a 20 seconds ad for a 10 seconds video.

Amends1782,

They could not possibly care any less , sadly

stewie3128,

I pay for streaming services where I don’t want to see the ads - which is to say, every streaming service I use at any given moment. I hate ads.

If I can’t get media ad-free, to the high seas it is.

Website ads, though, can go to hell in my opinion. There’s no good way to let a tasteful amount through with negligible impact on pageload speed. I subscribe to a few newspapers, but for everything else there’s uBO.

I consider myself lucky to be able to pay my way out of the problem right now. Until I was in my early 30s, I never paid for a single piece of software or media, simply because I couldn’t afford it. I did FOSS where I could, but, still…

Now that I can afford to pay for the things I use (and frequently write the expense off to my business), I haven’t ventured into international waters for years. Hopefully, “voting with my wallet” and financially supporting the software and media I use can go some distance to preventing more draconian DRM from being imposed.

Although everyone needs to get paid for their work, I’ll never begrudge anyone pirating something because they can’t afford it. I’ve been there, and wouldn’t have been able to advance in my field without doing so.

CanadianCarl,

Google won’t be coming on lemmy to read your rant. They just want more money.

Eudaimonia,
@Eudaimonia@lemmy.ml avatar

For me in Europe with Linux its thankfully still working with uBlock

I always try to use alternatives, but at least on desktop, it unfortunatelly often doesnt work right (freetube, piped)

But theres of also youtube-dl, hope at least this stays an option!

programmer_belch,
@programmer_belch@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

Try Invidious, it’s just a frontend for youtube hosted in various instances

lobodon,

Decided to start using Freetube on desktop, Newpipe on mobile. It works!

0x2d,

Also try yewtu.be (Invidious instance)

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