Did YouTube's offensive kill ad blockers? Here are the stats
adguard.com
YouTube tried to block video playback for ad-blocking users last year. Some even thought that this global effort would lead to the demise of ad blockers. But that did not happen.

TL;DR version:

  • From June to August, the number of active users of the AdGuard Ad Blocker extension for Chrome dropped by about 8%. But in late August, the trend reversed. The temporary slump in user growth was offset by the increased demand in the second half of the year.

  • After a brief period of turbulence that lasted about a month, we saw the trend stabilize. And while the daily number of uninstalls was still higher than before YouTube’s crackdown, it remained consistently lower than the number of daily installs.

  • After media reports and YouTube’s own statements implied that ad blockers were doomed, and especially after more and more users started noticing that their ad blocking extensions were not working properly on YouTube, we did indeed see a spike in uninstalls. However, at the same time, the number of installs also increased significantly! It may well be that the way ad blockers’ woes were amplified in the media inadvertently boosted their popularity and helped them woo new users.

  • The takeaway from all of this is that ad blockers — first and foremost, ad-blocking extensions — were rocked by YouTube’s onslaught, but survived. And, moreover, the interest has rebounded, as is evidenced by the growth in the number of active users.

  • pachristEnglish
    27•5 months ago

    The fact that ads are so intolerable is the problem. I understand that much of the internet being free is because of ads. But we went from the early days of the internet where ads were malicious, active annoyances to the modern internet where ads are malicious, passive annoyances. Clicking on an ad no longer ruins my afternoon with a virus, but it does log and sell my data to the highest bidder. Nearly every ad on the internet is in bad faith.

    Until we have better ads, I will block absolutely everything I can.

      • @Worx@lemmynsfw.comEnglish
        2•5 months ago

        I’m actually going to disagree there. Where I live there is a monthly magazine delivered free to anyone who wants it. The magazine is 100% adverts and is paid for entirely by the people advertising. It’s very useful when you’re trying to find a plumber of sell a car or whatever.

        EDIT: But you were probably being hyperbolic and I will agree that I dislike to see adverts anywhere that I’m not actively searchibg them out