Google is reportedly testing a new way to ensure people see YouTube ads: injecting them right into the video stream. However, some users report the new ads are unskippable or remove playback controls entirely.
The change was highlighted on X/Twitter by SponsorBlock, a crowdsourced extension that can skip sponsored sections in YouTube videos. According to a tweet from SponsorBlock, YouTube is testing “server-side ad injection,” which adds ads right into the video stream. That effectively breaks SponsorBlock since it offsets the timestamps it uses to skip sponsored segments.
However, the change will impact not just SponsorBlock but also most YouTube ad blockers. Currently, YouTube performs client-side ad injection, which means that the ads are delivered to users separately from the video and then placed throughout the content by the video player.
Worse, Gizmodo reports that some users weren’t able to skip the new ads. In some cases, playback controls were disabled when the ads played.
“YouTube is improving its performance and reliability in serving both organic and ad video content. This update may result in suboptimal viewing experiences for viewers with ad blockers installed,” Google told Gizmodo. It also went on to say that ad blockers violate YouTube’s terms of service and that people should try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience.
The new server-side injection doesn’t appear to be widely rolled out yet, but for those who do have it, the experience doesn’t sound great.
Source: SponsorBlock Via: Gizmodo
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