YouTube’s war against ad blockers takes another feature as a victim
Google’s ad blocker crackdown makes key parts of YouTube disappear for some users./
Google’s crackdown on ad blockers continues. | Image by PhoneArena
YouTube video descriptions and comments go missing
Over the past few days, multiple users complained on Reddit and other platforms that all the videos they play appear to have their comments turned off and lack a description. The exact reason for that to happen is still unknown, but it appears related to having active ad-blocking software. That could be another collateral casualty in Google’s continuing fight against ad blockers.
Here's what affected users see when they open a video. | Image by stev1234567890 on Reddit
A likely reason for the disappearance of the descriptions and comments is that Google may deactivate them when it detects an ad blocker. However, it’s possible that some ad-blocking software somehow blocks those features without Google’s specific intention.
We’ve seen worse
That's far from Google's first attempt to stop ad blockers on YouTube. | Image by PhoneArena
That’s far from the first time YouTube has malfunctioned because of ad blockers. Last year, some creators on the platform noticed that their view counts had dropped sharply, which turned out to be because views from users with ad blockers stopped counting. Google also reportedly slowed down playback speeds and outright blocked the service for people with ad-blocking software installed.
What would make you stop using an ad blocker with YouTube?
While blocking the comments section is far from the worst thing Google has done, it’s still damaging for the platform itself. Comments are still the most important way to engage with creators on YouTube and a key feature for the community. On the other hand, creators may be even happier if their fans didn’t block the ads that allow them to monetize their work.
It’s a lost battle
Leaving the moral aspect of the problem aside, I don’t think Google stands a chance against ad blockers, at least in the long term. We’ve seen numerous times how even the most strict limitations for users with ad blockers only lead to quick fixes by developers. Of course Google’s income depends on people seeing its ads, but that cat-and-mouse game is not going to end anytime soon. That’s why we’ll keep seeing such issues popping up every now and then, just to be fixed in a few days before the cycle repeats.
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