YouTube Cracks Down on Third-Party Ad Blockers, Says They Violate Terms and Hurt Creators

YouTube announced it will crack down on third-party apps that block ads while playing YouTube videos, saying it violates terms of service.

Apps that use YouTube APIs but block ads may soon lose access to those developer APIs.

YouTube says disabling ads affects creator revenue; ads support creators and let people use YouTube for free.

For ad-free YouTube, they suggest subscribing to Premium instead, which costs $13.99-$18.99.

YouTube has experimented with various methods to restrict ad blocking, like limiting videos for ad block users.