YouTube just cracked down on ad blockers again — Reports of issues have skyrocketed, and the culprit seems to be your favorite extension

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YouTube is constantly working to prevent the use of ad blockers, and recently, a new change has led many people to believe the site is experiencing an outage.

Reports of problems with YouTube started appearing on Down Detector around midnight EST, but really increased around 6 AM. Thousands of users have reported outages, suggesting YouTube is currently unavailable in certain areas (according to Tom’s Guide).

The root of the issue, however, seems to lie in an anti-ad blocker update.

Many users are reporting issues with YouTube, sharing screenshots on the YouTube subreddit showing blank, grey screens instead of the normal website. A lot of people are asking if YouTube is currently experiencing an outage.

These posts usually get the same replies: YouTube itself is working as expected, but an ad blocker is likely causing the problem.

YouTube has tried to stop ad blockers before. These tools block ads from appearing on the site and while you’re watching videos.

For years, YouTube and ad blocker users have been in a constant struggle. In June 2025, YouTube intensified this fight by fixing ways people bypassed ads and started slowing down videos for those still using ad blockers.

This naturally prompted ad blocker developers to find ways around the changes, creating a continuous cycle of updates and counter-measures – a bit like a game of cat and mouse.

Many people are still experiencing problems with ad blockers not working on YouTube, but users on the YouTube subreddit think they’ve found the cause. It seems the Opera GX browser, which includes its own ad blocker, is causing issues with the site.

Comment from r/youtube

One user reports the issue only occurs on Chromium-based browsers when logged in, while another says Firefox works without triggering YouTube’s anti-ad block system when used while logged out.

Comment from r/youtube

It looks like Microsoft Edge is still working fine. I just checked and was able to watch YouTube videos on it with the uBlock Origin extension without any problems.

Whether or not you can still watch YouTube without ads depends on your ad blocker and browser, but many users are now being asked to subscribe to YouTube Premium or find alternative solutions.

What can I do to get around YouTube’s anti-ad blocking system?

Advertising revenue is crucial for online businesses, and Google, as the owner of YouTube, understands this better than most. They display billions of ads daily across the internet worldwide.

To get around YouTube’s restrictions on ad blockers, you can subscribe to YouTube Premium. It costs $13.99 a month, but an annual subscription can lower the price.

YouTube Premium gets rid of ads, lets you keep videos playing in the background, and allows downloads. While it’s a good service, the monthly cost can be high for those who don’t watch a lot of videos, even if they’re annoyed by the constant ads.

Like I said before, not all browsers and ad blockers are having trouble with the recent YouTube update. I’m able to use Edge and uBlock Origin without any issues, but your experience might be different.

If you’re comfortable with a bit of DIY and have a Raspberry Pi, Richard Devine at Windows Central has created a helpful guide to building an ad blocker for your entire network – one that Google can’t bypass.

FAQ

How does YouTube know I’m using an ad blocker?

YouTube and Google haven’t publicly explained exactly how they identify ad blockers, but we can make some educated guesses based on their past efforts to counter them.

YouTube can detect when ads don’t load properly, which usually means someone is using an ad blocker. If an ad blocker manages to hide the ads anyway, YouTube might try to track users through other website code. When these attempts are blocked, YouTube still gets information about what’s happening.

Is YouTube Premium worth the money?

Whether or not YouTube Premium is worth it depends on your finances. It does remove ads, lets you download videos, and enables background playback, but it’s not an inexpensive service.

If you watch YouTube for hours every day, a premium subscription might be worth it. But if you’re a casual viewer, I suggest either tolerating the ads or trying a different browser with an ad blocker.

Are ad blockers illegal?

Using ad blockers isn’t illegal in most places. However, websites can prevent access to users who have them turned on, as this may violate the website’s terms of service.

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2025-11-07 19:10