YouTube's Risky Blocking Experiment: Will Users Surrender To Ads Or Embrace Premium?

Benzinga · 05/11/2023 05:19

Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGLYouTube is cracking down on ad-blockers with a new policy experiment. 

What Happened: Reddit user shared a screenshot of a pop–up messaging on the platform stating, “Ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube,” prompting the user to click on a button to “Allow YouTube Ads” or “Try YouTube Premium.”

The message provided the reasoning behind this decision, saying ads were crucial for YouTube to stay free for users worldwide. The platform stated that interested people can opt for YouTube Premium to have an ad-free experience and creators can get paid with those subscriptions. 

See Also: MrBeast Just Hit 150M Subscribers On YouTube: Here’s How Much He Makes

Unsurprisingly, netizens took to Twitter to share their frustration with the latest change, with some saying that YouTube’s aggressive ads policy pushed them to use ad-blockers.