6 ms·

This is why I exclusively view Youtube with adblockers, and prefer to view it with NewPipe or VLC+ytdl. I'm not opposed to ads at the beginning and end, but nu

This is why I exclusively view Youtube with adblockers, and prefer to view it with NewPipe or VLC+ytdl. I'm not opposed to ads at the beginning and end, but numerous _jarring_ cuts in a ten minute video to play a couple of ads every two or three minutes? No thanks.

maurys 7y ago
There is the option to use YouTube Premium though. It's not too expensive (yet), and with the number of cooking and tech videos I'm consuming right now, it seems worth it.
- dleslie 7y ago
  YouTube Premium doesn't offer any protection for anonymity and freedom from their suggestion algorithm. That makes it inferior to NewPipe and ytdl.
  - falcolas 7y ago
    It does, however, reward content creators for their efforts (at about 100x the value of an ad view). That makes it far superior to NewPipe and ytdl, to me.
    - catalogia 7y ago
      I'd sooner buy channel merch and let a tshirt company take a middleman cut than let google take that middleman cut. Patreon being the middleman is also preferable to further enriching google.
      - deleted 7y ago
        [deleted]
    - blhack 7y ago
      That is really great to know and will likely result in me re activating my YouTube red (premium? Whatever it’s called now) account.
  - mardifoufs 7y ago
    I think this is really moving the goalposts. It seems like a lot of people who are vehemently anti advertising and ask for alternatives aren't really interested in them. Being anti advertising is totally understandable, but it's weird to see people who don't truly want to pay for ad free content talk about how invasive ads are.
    - dleslie 7y ago
      Elsewhere I stated that I pay for free services (CBC); I'm happy to pay for no advertising. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22857357 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22857357
      - mardifoufs 7y ago
        Why not use Youtube Red with ublock then? Google still tracks what you watch on your account, but I'm assuming if you are a frequent user you already have one to keep track of subscriptions etc.
        dleslie 7y ago
        NewPipe has subscriptions without having a need for an account.
Infinitesimus 7y ago
Do you have anything against subscribing to the platform? (If you can afford it)
- dleslie 7y ago
  I pay for other platforms, even ones with free options (CBC), and so I am definitely open to it. But I distrust Google and don't want to serve them more data than is necessary.
  - falcolas 7y ago
    I would be outright shocked if Google is unable correlate video viewing habits via direct downloads to a Google account. Especially since they (google, facebook, et.al) have already demonstrated the ability to strongly correlate IP traffic with an account (active or shadow).
    - rcxdude 7y ago
      Yeah, but will they bother? It's a pretty small fraction of traffic which even uses an ad blocker, let alone a completely different client.
    - dleslie 7y ago
      To stop feeding personal data to Google completely one must stop using the internet, stop using credit cards, stop filling out warranty cards, and so on. They vacuum up personal data from every possible commercialized database they can access. But I can at least refuse to use a Google account, and to serve a tracking cookie. I'd have to live off the grid and in the woods to stop feeding them any data.
      - jessedhillon 7y ago
        This really is the tiniest violin. You're commiting piracy, plain and simple, and your justification is that your (unverifiable) terms of access aren't being met.
      - 7y ago
mgninad 7y ago
Why don't you subscribe to YT premium. If there is a way to remove ads a support the platform, why not do that?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- dx87 7y ago
  Subscribing gives a worse experience than blocking the ads. If you're subscribed and accidentally open another youtube video, it'll pause the currently playing video with a message saying that a video is playing in another window.
  - falcolas 7y ago
    It doesn't for me, and hasn't. Perhaps this is a browser or addon behavior?
  - ripdog 7y ago
    Can confirm that this does not happen, as a premium subscriber.
- crocodiletears 7y ago
  Consumer Activism's a good reason. Petty and insignificant as it may be, I became fed up with YouTube's content policies and search censorship for news topics, cut my red subscription, and put the money I had been giving toward my most watched channel's patreons. Newpipe and Skytube have been my go-to clients since.
josteink 7y ago
> I'm not opposed to ads at the beginning and end, but numerous _jarring_ cuts in a ten minute video to play a couple of ads every two or three minutes? No thanks. This problem is a solved problem. It’s called YouTube Premium.
- dleslie 7y ago
  Also solved with ad blockers, NewPipe and ytdl. With better features: unlike Premium, they block tracking.
  - josteink 7y ago
    But unlike your solution, it works on mobile, tablets, Smart-TVs, Chromecasts and other set-top boxes. And creators get paid too. You’re simply being cheap. Don’t even pretend there’s anything technically or UX wise superior about the way you’ve chosen to avoid YouTube ads, and on desktop PCs only.
    - dleslie 7y ago
      NewPipe is an Android app.

maurys 7y ago

There is the option to use YouTube Premium though. It's not too expensive (yet), and with the number of cooking and tech videos I'm consuming right now, it seems worth it.

dleslie 7y ago
YouTube Premium doesn't offer any protection for anonymity and freedom from their suggestion algorithm. That makes it inferior to NewPipe and ytdl.
- falcolas 7y ago
  It does, however, reward content creators for their efforts (at about 100x the value of an ad view). That makes it far superior to NewPipe and ytdl, to me.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    I'd sooner buy channel merch and let a tshirt company take a middleman cut than let google take that middleman cut. Patreon being the middleman is also preferable to further enriching google.
    - deleted 7y ago
      [deleted]
  - blhack 7y ago
    That is really great to know and will likely result in me re activating my YouTube red (premium? Whatever it’s called now) account.
- mardifoufs 7y ago
  I think this is really moving the goalposts. It seems like a lot of people who are vehemently anti advertising and ask for alternatives aren't really interested in them. Being anti advertising is totally understandable, but it's weird to see people who don't truly want to pay for ad free content talk about how invasive ads are.
  - dleslie 7y ago
    Elsewhere I stated that I pay for free services (CBC); I'm happy to pay for no advertising. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22857357 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22857357
    - mardifoufs 7y ago
      Why not use Youtube Red with ublock then? Google still tracks what you watch on your account, but I'm assuming if you are a frequent user you already have one to keep track of subscriptions etc.
      - dleslie 7y ago
        NewPipe has subscriptions without having a need for an account.

Infinitesimus 7y ago

Do you have anything against subscribing to the platform? (If you can afford it)

dleslie 7y ago
I pay for other platforms, even ones with free options (CBC), and so I am definitely open to it. But I distrust Google and don't want to serve them more data than is necessary.
- falcolas 7y ago
  I would be outright shocked if Google is unable correlate video viewing habits via direct downloads to a Google account. Especially since they (google, facebook, et.al) have already demonstrated the ability to strongly correlate IP traffic with an account (active or shadow).
  - rcxdude 7y ago
    Yeah, but will they bother? It's a pretty small fraction of traffic which even uses an ad blocker, let alone a completely different client.
  - dleslie 7y ago
    To stop feeding personal data to Google completely one must stop using the internet, stop using credit cards, stop filling out warranty cards, and so on. They vacuum up personal data from every possible commercialized database they can access. But I can at least refuse to use a Google account, and to serve a tracking cookie. I'd have to live off the grid and in the woods to stop feeding them any data.
    - jessedhillon 7y ago
      This really is the tiniest violin. You're commiting piracy, plain and simple, and your justification is that your (unverifiable) terms of access aren't being met.
    - 7y ago

mgninad 7y ago

Why don't you subscribe to YT premium. If there is a way to remove ads a support the platform, why not do that?

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
dx87 7y ago
Subscribing gives a worse experience than blocking the ads. If you're subscribed and accidentally open another youtube video, it'll pause the currently playing video with a message saying that a video is playing in another window.
- falcolas 7y ago
  It doesn't for me, and hasn't. Perhaps this is a browser or addon behavior?
- ripdog 7y ago
  Can confirm that this does not happen, as a premium subscriber.
crocodiletears 7y ago
Consumer Activism's a good reason. Petty and insignificant as it may be, I became fed up with YouTube's content policies and search censorship for news topics, cut my red subscription, and put the money I had been giving toward my most watched channel's patreons. Newpipe and Skytube have been my go-to clients since.

josteink 7y ago

> I'm not opposed to ads at the beginning and end, but numerous _jarring_ cuts in a ten minute video to play a couple of ads every two or three minutes? No thanks. This problem is a solved problem. It’s called YouTube Premium.

dleslie 7y ago
Also solved with ad blockers, NewPipe and ytdl. With better features: unlike Premium, they block tracking.
- josteink 7y ago
  But unlike your solution, it works on mobile, tablets, Smart-TVs, Chromecasts and other set-top boxes. And creators get paid too. You’re simply being cheap. Don’t even pretend there’s anything technically or UX wise superior about the way you’ve chosen to avoid YouTube ads, and on desktop PCs only.
  - dleslie 7y ago
    NewPipe is an Android app.