Remove ads on YouTube with this simple and free solution

To increase ad revenue, YouTube recently decided to block video playback if you use an ad blocker. But there is an extension that solves the problem. And it's free!

You'll notice this if you visit YouTube regularly: for several weeks, the streaming platform has been asking you to watch ads before you even start playing a video. If it is a bit long, the reading is still regularly interrupted by other announcements. These advertising sequences are not new: thanks to them YouTube funds its services when you use them for free, which is the case for most countries in the world. Obviously, only subscribers to the Premium plan, worth €12.99 per month, are exempt – and this is the main advantage of this rather expensive package…

However, for years it has been possible to avoid these – often annoying – ads by using an ad blocker in the form of an extension (or plug-in) grafted into the web browser to add functionality. There are many extensions (for Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and others) responsible for blocking countless ads that appear on web pages, especially on YouTube, the most famous of which are AdBlock, AdlBloc Plus, AdBlock Ultimate, AdGuard, Poper Blocker or even Ghostery. .

However, even though YouTube has been very tolerant towards them, the platform recently decided to ban blockers. Once one of these modules is detected, a warning appears on the screen and video playback becomes impossible until the blocking is deactivated. An understandable decision because watching ads is what makes up for the free service. YouTube doesn't take advantage of encouraging those who don't want to see ads to switch to its paid plan.

In fact, it's now practically impossible to watch YouTube videos for free without ads. There are certainly some workarounds, including using the specialist YT Siphon extension, which captures the feed to display on another web page. Effective, but not very practical on a daily basis.

Fortunately, one ad blocker still escapes the platform's new measures: uBlock Origin. This free and open source module is easy to use and very powerful, and exists as an extension for the major web browsers, namely Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and even Safari. Just install it in your browser and it will work right away, without any modifications needed. For some unknown reason, YouTube has not blocked it yet and removed all ads, both before and during the video! Not bad, especially a software module that is still regularly maintained by its initial developer, Raymond Hill – who deserves thanks.

Download UBLOCK ORIGIN (Free)

Light and discreet, uBlock Origin never interferes with your web browsing. Above all, it effectively blocks all ads, static or animated, on all web pages, and even trackers, adding a layer of protection that warns when the link goes to another site. This is not the only advantage of this popular blocker – which is highly appreciated by experts – which can be quickly deactivated, when necessary, and which has many optional functions, to optimize settings on specific sites. Suffice it to say that trying it is adopting it! So, of course, nothing says that uBlock Origin will be on YouTube forever, but it's best to take advantage of it as long as the platform endures if you no longer want to “suffer” ads with every video!