YouTube is taking its experiment of banning users with adblockers to a new level.

The company was recently spotted to restrict users with ad blockers to three video views only if they don't remove their ad blocker or add YouTube to their white list.

Youtube previously experimented on outright preventing users from accessing their website if their ad blockers' enabled.

YouTube Ramps Up Ad Blocking Experiment

      YouTube cracking down on if you're not paying them to block the ads, it hurts me, and hurt you.
 by u/Reddit_n_Me in youtube    

YouTube, through Google, has been planning on doing something about those using ad blockers to remove the ads playing before, during, and after videos without paying for YouTube Premium during the past month.

You may remember that YouTube suddenly started blocking users from proceeding to the website without disabling their Adblock first - an alarming new development for those using ad blockers. According to a Google spokesperson at the time, the company is running a "small experiment" regarding AdBlock detectors that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium.

While news of it died down during the past month, Google had recently escalated it for the public to notice - another Reddit post on the r/youtube subreddit mentioned that YouTube seems to be testing a new way to restrict users with ad blockers. Instead of restricting users with ad blockers, like in its earlier experiments, YouTube will limit them to viewing three videos on its platform before restricting them.

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After that, they will either need to switch off their ad blocker (or add the website to their white list), or purchase YouTube Premium to remove the ads "the right way." The wording of YouTube's alert to those using ad blockers implies that using ad blockers is against its Terms of Service.

YouTube has since confirmed to Bleeping Computer that the new alert is part of its experiment to urge users with ad blockers to try YouTube Premium or allow ads. The spokesperson even added that YouTube might temporarily disable playback "in extreme cases, where users continue to use ad blockers on its websites despite being alerted against its use repeatedly.

However, it's unclear if that means YouTube won't automatically block playback after a user with an ad blocker watches their three videos and will give them more opportunities to comply.

The experiment only affects a few users, though YouTube didn't mention how many people and regions are part of its experiment.

Why Remove Ad Blockers?

YouTube's Music and Premium services have already surpassed 80 million subscribers, per Variety, but it seems the revenue the company earns isn't enough to cover its expenses. Tech Crunch mentioned that Youtube saw its ad revenue decline by 2.6% year over year in late April due to advertisers pulling back from the platform because of economic uncertainty.

In fact, the company only managed to earn $6.69 billion in advertising revenue for the first fiscal quarter of 2023, though it managed to slightly beat analysts' expectations of $6.6 billion.

As such, it may want its users to remove their ad blockers so it could earn more ad revenue or see its YouTube Premium subscription revenue grow by preventing users with ad blockers from accessing its website.

Related Article: Google Tests Banning Ad Blocker Use on YouTube