Google is using every possible avenue to prevent users from watching YouTube videos with ad-blockers installed on their devices. Last month, multiple users raised concerns about a sudden increase in "This content isn't available, try again later" errors when watching YouTube videos.
At the time, there were only two workarounds for the issue: either disabling ad-blockers installed in their browsers or upgrading to YouTube's $14/month Premium subscription plan. As a result, many users speculated that Google was intentionally using the YouTube errors as part of its broader campaign against ad-blockers.
YouTube now turns off comments and video descriptions to users. from r/youtube
Some of the users that flagged the issue on Reddit indicated that the only fix for the issue is to disable the ad-blocker on their PC. "The sad thing is this is happening to premium users that are running ad-blockers," a Reddit user lamented. "Not just to the people running YouTube ad-blockers specifically."
The exact method of messing with the ad-blocking crowd may be new, but it’s far from the first time when ad blockers faced a challenge from YouTube and managed to successfully overcome it by updating the filter lists — sets of rules that tell the ad blocker what exactly to block. As with previous issues, the fixes have already been deployed. Once the updated filters reach users, the issue should resolve. But not everyone may have received them yet. And that’s where things get different.
AdGuard
The company says that the gap between a fix being developed and it actually being delivered to users has never been wider. Interestingly, the company claims that Google’s new extension rules are to blame.
Google began transitioning Chrome extensions from Manifest V2 to Manifest V3 in 2023, a change that significantly affected ad blockers such as uBlock Origin. As a result, more than 30 million Chrome users were left vulnerable to intrusive ads.
Now, the Manifest V3 framework is in full effect after Google deprecated V2. According to AdGuard, MV3 changed the scope of extensions, significantly reducing their permissions and limiting their capabilities.
"One of the most significant changes is the replacement of the webRequest API with the declarativeNetRequest API.
While both APIs allow extensions to block unwanted content, the declarativeNetRequest API is far more restrictive. It operates by pre-defining a list of rules that the extension can use to block content, and these rules are applied statically."
As a result, AdGuard says that it's impossible for ad-blockers to respond to requests in real-time under the MV3 framework. What's more, the ability to update filter lists and adapt to new content has been stunted.
The company admits that Google's transition to the Manifest V3 framework was designed to bolster user privacy. While the goal was achieved, it says that many extensions, especially ad-blockers, have become less powerful.
Ad-blocking extensions under MV3 can’t just update their filters at will like before. The filters in MV3 are pre-built within the extension itself, which means that filter updates can only be delivered through full extension updates, and updating the extension requires it to go through a full-scale review process. This means that if something breaks on a popular website (like YouTube), users may be stuck without a solution for days.
AdGuard
For context, AdGuard uses Chrome’s fast-track review to deliver filter rules updates to users without having to wait for a full extension review. However, this only applies to rules that Google deems "safe."
In such an instance, the automatic extension could be delivered to users within a few hours. However, rules that don't fall under the safe category must undergo a full review process, which could last up to a week or more.
According to AdGuard:
"Unfortunately, the fixes required to deal with the YouTube issues we’re discussing today cannot be delivered via the fast track, so until the extension passes the lengthy review process, they will not become available to Chrome users."
Browsers like Mozilla Firefox don't use Chromium, which means they continue to run the Manifest V2 framework. As such, extensions and ad-blockers continue to run smoothly with powerful capabilities, potentially explaining why there haven't been many complaints about YouTube from Firefox users.
The recent Manifest V3 changes in Chromium […] severely limited what ad blockers can do in Chromium-based browsers. You probably don’t feel it right now because we’ve been able to work with the Chromium team and shape the API in a way that covers most of our needs. But what’s been crippled is the ability to improve it further. It now takes much more time to implement changes — it may take years to introduce a new feature in MV3.
Andrey Meshkov, AdGuard’s Co-Founder and CTO
In the interim, AdGuard recommends a standalone, system-level ad blocker like AdGuard for Windows or AdGuard for Mac since it doesn't depend on a browser and will filter the traffic of your entire PC.
Alternatively, you can also switch to a different browser that doesn't rely on the Manifest V3 framework, including Mozilla Firefox and other Gecko-based browsers.
Earlier this month, YouTube reportedly started killing background play on third-party mobile browsers, limiting the popular feature to Premium users. This is on top of Google preventing playback on YouTube videos as well as intentionally slowing down YouTube videos for users with ad-blockers.
Ironically, a YouTube ad (in the background) is trying to get me to join its $14/month Premium plan as I wrap up this post.
What do you think
Google's crackdown on ad-blockers has seemingly made it virtually impossible for free users to enjoy YouTube videos without the constant interruptions from annoying ads. What's more, the ads being promoted (at least for me) aren't curated for my specific wants and needs, making them redundant.
At this point, you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. It seems like getting a Premium subscription is the only realistic way around the annoying ads since ad-blockers are seemingly out of the equation with the new Manifest V3 framework rules or ditching Google Chrome entirely...
What are your thoughts on Google's aggressive campaign against ad-blockers? Let me know in the comments.
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