YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers, which leaves users with a choice of how they want to use the product, if at all. But, if you could name your price to block ads on YouTube, what would that be?
As it stands today, there are four options with YouTube ads. You can deal with them, try to use an ad blocker (and ultimately fail, as Google expands the blocking of ad blockers), pay for YouTube Premium, or just not use YouTube.
Realistically, for many people, just not using YouTube is not an option. Not only do many creators regularly post excellent content to the platform, but YouTube is also home to some of the most useful content on the web. There are plenty of folks claiming that they’ll stop using YouTube as a result of the blocking of ad blockers, but it’s a pretty safe bet that those endeavors won’t last forever.
YouTube Premium seems like the obvious solution, given that the main perk of the monthly subscription is that it removes ads while still paying the creators responsible for making the content. But at $13.99 per month, it’s not exactly cheap.
You do get a lot for that price, with YouTube Music, offline downloads, and background playback alongside the lack of ads. But still, for those who just want to avoid YouTube’s seemingly relentless onslaught of ads, it’s not a small price to pay.
Earlier this year, we proposed the idea of a cheaper YouTube Premium plan, which would cost less and only remove ads – no downloads and, more importantly, no YouTube Music. And it’s an idea we’d still love to see happen. Meanwhile, YouTube has gone in the opposite direction, killing off a “Premium Lite” plan that was almost exactly what we were asking for, even though it never was available in most regions.
Personally, I’m happy to keep going with the existing YouTube Premium, as I arguably spend more time on YouTube than I do any of the other streaming services I pay for. But I do wish there was a middle ground. Something under $10 per month that could get rid of ads.
What about you? What would you pay for YouTube without ads now that ad blockers are done for?
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Laura Adams is a tech enthusiast residing in the UK. Her articles cover the latest technological innovations, from AI to consumer gadgets, providing readers with a glimpse into the future of technology.
