YouTube really doesn’t want you using an ad blocker. For the past couple of years, the company has cracked down on browsers and tools that prevent ads from appearing before (and during) videos on its site. It’s part of a larger push by YouTube parent company Google to block ad blockers on its platforms, including, notably, Chrome. It’s understandable—ads are how YouTube makes most of its money—but for those of us who can’t browse the web without an ad blocker, it’s starting to get more difficult to watch YouTube while the tool is engaged. Difficult, but not impossible.
DuckDuckGo lets you watch YouTube ad-free
On Wednesday, DuckDuckGo announced that its browser now blocks most video ads, including those on YouTube. The company says its ad blocker can stop both preroll ads as well as ones that play in the middle of videos. Ad blocking is nothing new for DuckDuckGo: The company says that its browser has blocked “invasive ads” and “annoying pop-ups” before, but this is the first time the browser has shipped with an ad blocker for video.
Perhaps the best feature here is that the ad blocker is enabled by default: New users who install DuckDuckGo on their device won’t have to configure anything in order to take advantage of the tool. The same goes for existing users, assuming they’ve updated the browser to the latest version: So long as you’re running the most up-to-date version of DuckDuckGo, the ad blocker is engaged. There is one exception, however: DuckDuckGo for Android. While the company’s app for iOS, Windows, and Mac will run the ad blocker without intervention, Android users will need to flip a switch to take advantage of the new tool. (DuckDuckGo says it will soon make this the default for Android users, too.)
The company says it uses filter lists from uBlock Origin in order to find and block YouTube ads. DuckDuckGo warns that, like most ad blockers, videos may have some extra buffer time before playing, but the videos will play uninterrupted once they fully load.
How to use DuckDuckGo’s new ad blocker
As previously mentioned, it’s likely your DuckDuckGo browser or app is running this ad blocker already. But, to be sure, make sure you’re running DuckDuckGo’s latest version. Then, head to Settings > Ad Blocking, and enable the ad blocker.
What do you think so far?
Note that you need to be watching YouTube videos in the DuckDuckGo app or browser directly to take advantage of this ad block. As your mobile device may still try to open YouTube links in the YouTube app, you’ll need to open that link in DuckDuckGo, or else you’ll likely see ads.
You can also toggle the feature on and off while watching videos. If you’re watching a video on YouTube, and feel that you should support the creator with ad revenue, you can head to settings and disable the ad blocker without reloading the video.
