YouTube has made it more difficult for ad-block users to block ads in videos since October of this year. We'll show you how to still get rid of commercials on the platform.
This guide reveals:
With stricter measures against ad-blockers, YouTube aims to encourage its users to subscribe to a premium plan. Nevertheless, there are still ways to block annoying ads before and during YouTube videos. We discovered and tested this ourselves.
We used the Mozilla Firefox browser for this, but our method likely works with other browsers like Google Chrome or Opera. Our "trick" is essentially based on a typical ad-blocking function. However, in this guide, we refer to an ad-blocker that easily achieves the desired result.
Below, we explain step by step how we proceeded in our ad-blocker test.
To block YouTube ads, we used AdGuard. This ad-blocker can be downloaded either directly from the official website (see screenshot below) or from Mozilla's plugin page.
Once that's done, AdGuard will activate itself if the necessary permissions have been granted. Otherwise, you can also activate AdGuard by selecting the browser options "Extras" and "Add-ons and Themes."
Next, you need to open any monetized YouTube video. "Monetized" means that an ad is displayed before the actual content.
Now, pause the running ad by using the pause button at the bottom left of the video player. For our method, it's important that the ad, and not the actual user content, is displayed.
In order to block ads before or during YouTube videos in 2023, you need to first open an ad and pause it using the pause button.
In the next step, click on the AdGuard icon (top right in the Firefox browser), which will open a small window below it. Here, select the option "Block ads on this website."
The AdGuard menu contains the option "Block ads on this website." We will use this function.
Once the blocking option is active, you can block most elements displayed on the screen by clicking on them. To block ads, you need to click on the currently displayed video clip. A green frame will then appear around the video field.
The green frame around the video field indicates that the paused video clip is selected.
In the final step, a new window will open under the AdGuard icon, and at the bottom right, the "Block" option will appear. After clicking the respective button, not only will the currently displayed ad be blocked, but in-video advertising in general.
And that's it: From now on, YouTube will no longer display ads before or in videos. Do you have any questions about this guide? Feel free to use the comment section below the article for that.
| Note: In some cases, it's possible that YouTube may detect the AdGuard trick described here. The video platform then displays a message stating that videos require the ad blocker to be turned off for playback. However, this doesn't mean that the trick didn't work: Simply refreshing the page (by hitting F5 in Firefox) allows the video to play as expected. |
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