YouTube is going after third-party apps that block ads

Google's YouTube video streaming business has been working for some time to prevent third companies from limiting access to its adverts. In August 2023, it created pop-up warnings when web browsers with ad blockers were used to play YouTube videos, informing users that their video playback would not run unless they disabled the ad blockers.

According to a new YouTube help page launched on Monday, third-party YouTube apps that attempt to disable adverts will face identical treatment.

According to the new support message, customers who use third-party tools to disable YouTube adverts may experience buffering when trying to stream videos. They may also receive the error notice "The following content is not available on this app" when attempting to watch.

YouTube explained the rationale for its latest assault on third-party ad-blocking apps:

We want to emphasize that our terms don’t allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership, and Ads on YouTube help support creators and let billions of people around the world use the streaming service.

The announcement also stated that if any third-party YouTube violates the API Terms of Service, "we will take appropriate action to protect our platform, creators, and viewers."

The only approved option to remove advertisements from YouTube is to acquire a YouTube Premium subscription. Google appears to be doing everything possible to maintain revenue sources from YouTube, whether through advertising or Premium subscriptions.