Google recently issued a statement confirming that recent updates may affect YouTube's ad blocking add-ons.

Google's statement reads, "YouTube is improving the performance and reliability of serving both organic and advertising video content. This update may result in a less than optimal viewing experience for viewers with ad blockers installed. Ad blockers violate YouTube's Terms of Service and we have long urged viewers to support their favorite creators and allow ads on YouTube or try ad-free YouTube Premium."

The statement was added to a post by AndroidAuthority following reports about a crowdsourced blocking tool that identifies and skips sponsored segments in videos. According to that post, YouTube is piloting server-side ad injection, which allows ad segments to be pieced together on the video and server, rather than combining ad segments from two separate sources. This makes it more difficult for ad blockers to locate the start of an ad.

In addition to this, there is a recent bug that was documented on NewPipe's GitHub and confirmed earlier this month in a post to X by the developer of the Colbat add-on. This indicates that Google may force users to sign in before starting a video. This "bug," for what it is worth, appears to require users to log in when they try to watch without logging in.

YouTube has long been in conflict with ad-blocking software, and has recently been accused of intentionally slowing down or skipping videos when users are using ad-blocking software YouTube has also recently introduced an ad blocker on its platform confirmed that it has launched a new "global effort" to discourage people from using ad blockers on its platform. So far, ad blockers have found ways around many of the changes, but it will only be a matter of time.

While the inability to avoid ads may annoy some people, it should be noted that YouTube Premium has several advantages. The service allows users to download videos, add them for free, and even play videos while the phone screen is off.

If you seek your content elsewhere, we have a list of the best streaming services. By the way, you can also use one of the best VPNs to make sure you don't miss your favorite home content while traveling abroad.