Google launches new battle against ad blockers on YouTube

Here we go again Google… YouTube users around the world are starting to see new ad blocking prompts when they try to watch YouTube videos with an ad blocker enabled. It looks like the effort The company's March 2025 plan is to convince ad-blocking users to disable their content blocker or subscribe to YouTube Premium.

The message says, “Ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service,” and then goes on to list three reasons why video playback might not work. The company says YouTube Premium is an option for users who want ad-free access (not YouTube Premium Lite, which requires payment but still displays ads).

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The prompt, which appears at the top of the video page itself, offers several options. The two main buttons – allow YouTube ads and try YouTube Premium – are the solutions Google suggests. The first is aimed at disabling the ad blocker. The second is a monthly subscription option to get rid of YouTube ads without using an ad blocker.

There is also a “report a problem” option, which may be useful if you receive the above message and are not using an ad blocker. Some users may also have the option to close the message using an x ​​button that appears in the upper right corner. This option may disappear after some time.

Oddly enough, the message doesn't appear in Edge or Firefox with uBlock Origin installed. Google is likely showing the message to a small percentage of YouTube users who use ad blockers.

What can you do

Here are some suggestions that may help you troubleshoot the issue without subscribing to YouTube Premium or disabling your YouTube ad blocker.

• Try your browser's private browsing mode. Sometimes, this is enough. The downside is that you are not logged into your account in this mode by default.
• Try a different browser.
• Update your content blocker or ad blocker filter list.
• Some content blockers are better than others, try uBlock Origin.
• Good content blockers are quick to release updates that address such issues. It's a never-ending game of cat and mouse.

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