• by Colin Kirkland , April 15, 2024

YouTube made an update Monday in relation to third-party ad-blocking apps, which may make it more difficult for users to watch YouTube videos without paying for the company’s ad-free tier.

Specifically, viewers using these third-party apps to access YouTube may begin experiencing “buffering issues” or be met with an error message stating that “the following content is not available on this app.”

“We want to emphasize that our terms don’t allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership,” the company wrote in a blog post.

Last year, the company began reminding its users on the app to either allow ads while watching videos or pay to upgrade to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience. In June 2023, the company also began running a global test that cuts viewers off after watching three videos with ad blockers.

YouTube’s new policy-driven strategy particularly targets mobile ad blockers that allow users to open YouTube within the ad blocking app, so they can watch as many videos as they want without any ads.

“We only allow third-party apps to use our API when they follow our API Services Terms of Service,” the company added. “When we find an app that violates these terms, we will take appropriate action to protect our platform, creators, and viewers.”