Video giant YouTube has taken a striking new action against some users using ad blockers on its platform. According to recent user reports, users attempting to access the site through browsers with ad blocking extensions installed are presented with a blank page. This suggests that YouTube has entered a new phase in its ongoing fight against ad blockers, a move it has been making since 2023.

YouTube is obsessed with ad blockers

Users initially dismissed this access issue as a partial outage. Even the DownDetector site saw an increase, suggesting a general malfunction.

However, the affected users’ own experiments revealed the truth: Users who switched to a different browser without ad blocking software found YouTube opening immediately and functioning without any issues. This clearly indicates that the problem is directly caused by ad blockers.

YouTube insists that the use of such blockers is against the platform’s rules and sees this as a threat to platform revenue. However, ad blocker use remains widespread among users seeking to avoid ads.

This isn’t the first time YouTube users have faced challenges with ad blockers. Users have previously experienced slower video loading times with ad blockers enabled.

The platform also noted that these blockers caused a significant drop in overall YouTube view counts. The current move to display a blank page stands out as one of YouTube’s most aggressive actions demonstrating its commitment to ending ad blockers.