Many users suddenly saw gray areas instead of YouTube videos: Thousands in the US complained about problems watching YouTube videos, and outage reports for the site shot up. In reality, however, YouTube’s changed approach to ad blocker users is behind it.

According to user reports a gray area suddenly appears where the video should normally be, as do the thumbnails of suggested videos. However, it turned out that the site functioned normally without an ad blocker and only users of such a program were affected.

Empfohlener redaktioneller Inhalt

Mit Ihrer Zustimmung wird hier ein externer Inhalt geladen.

Ich bin damit einverstanden, dass mir externe Inhalte angezeigt werden. Damit können personenbezogene Daten an Drittplattformen übermittelt werden. Mehr dazu in unserer Datenschutzerklärung.

The issue seems to vary in severity depending on the internet browser and the ad blocker extension used. Opera GX is reportedly particularly affected. Here, YouTube is said not to work even with the ad blocker extension turned off. However, one reason for this could be that Opera GX comes with a built-in online advertising blocking function. Others report that they can continue to use YouTube without problems with Google’s Chrome browser, even with an ad blocker. A test with Mozilla Firefox and uBlock Origin was successful. It is unclear whether the current problems are occurring at all in Europe and other regions outside the USA.

Back in June there were issues for ad blocker users. YouTube has apparently found ways to detect them and close corresponding loopholes. Users of ad blockers were then shown warning signs that such programs violate YouTube’s terms of service. This already happened in 2023. The video platform has long been engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with the developers of such programs. The portal Tom’s Guide assumes that YouTube detects when a browser does not request certain scripts for displaying ads. Small code snippets that are typical for advertising and are specifically placed by YouTube could also play a role. If the browser filters these out, YouTube could interpret this as a sign of an ad blocker.

YouTube advertising at the most important video moments

In May, the platform announced something that may have led many to use an ad blocker. YouTube plans to show ads specifically at peak points – the most important content moments of videos – in the future. These are to be identified with the help of Google’s Gemini AI. Advertising is thus intended to receive particularly high attention from viewers.

By fighting ad blockers, YouTube wants to secure its livelihood. The platform is financed by advertising and subscriptions for YouTube Premium, which allow ad-free viewing. At least for the ads placed by YouTube itself, not for those that large creators place in their content themselves.

(nen)

Don’t miss any news – follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Mastodon.

This article was originally published in German. It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.