YouTube clamps down on ad blocker third-party apps

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YouTube is strengthening its enforcement on third-party apps that violate its terms of service and, in particular, on ad-blocking apps.

In a statement, YouTube said that viewers using these third-party apps may experience "buffering issues" or see the error message, “The following content is not available on this app” when trying to watch a video.

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It said that it would like to emphasise that its terms do not allow third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership.

"Ads on YouTube help support creators and let billions of people around the world use the streaming service," it said.

It added that it does understand that some people would prefer to watch videos on the platform ad-free and that this is why it offers YouTube Premium.

With YouTube Premium, users can watch videos without interruptions by ads before and during a video, including video overlay ads. Users will also not see third-party banner ads and search ads.

YouTube explained that it only allows third-party apps to use its API when it follows its 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," it said.

This comes shortly after the platform introduced a new tool in Creator Studio that will require creators to disclose when content a viewer could easily mistake for a real person, place or event, is made with altered or synthetic media, including generative AI.

The disclosures will appear as labels in the expanded description or on the front of the video player.

The new label is meant to strengthen transparency with viewers and build trust between creators and their audience, YouTube said in a blog post at the time.

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