YouTube ad blocking now includes third-party apps

YouTube is bringing its ad blocking fight to mobile. in Updated MondayYouTube wrote that users who access videos through a third-party ad blocking app may experience buffering issues or see an error message that reads “The following content is not available in this app.”

Last year, YouTube launched a “global effort” to encourage users to allow ads while watching videos or upgrade to YouTube Premium. It has also started disabling videos for users who have the ad blocking extension enabled.

But now, YouTube says its policies don't allow “third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from getting rewarded for viewership.” This appears to be aimed at mobile ad blockers like AdGuard, which allows you to open YouTube within an ad blocking app, where you'll be able to watch videos without interruption.

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

To overcome this issue, YouTube again suggests subscribing to ad-free YouTube Premium. This probably isn't good news for all users who watch YouTube through ad blocking apps, but YouTube doesn't appear to be backing down in its fight against ad blockers any time soon.