YouTube is taking an aggressive stance against adblockers in 2025, rolling out unskippable ads that sometimes last longer than the videos users intend to watch.
Despite being one of the most popular entertainment platforms, YouTube has long relied on its ad-supported business model, offering essential features for free while encouraging users to subscribe to Premium for an ad-free experience.
However, since last year, YouTube has ramped up its efforts to punish anyone using ad blockers, which is now getting worse again.
YouTube’s Growing Efforts to Block Adblockers
Google began enforcing stricter anti-adblock measures in 2024, targeting users who used location proxies for cheaper Premium subscriptions, modified apps like Vanced, and browser extensions designed to block ads. The company even resorted to server-side ad injection and intentionally slower load times for users suspected of using ad-blocking tools.
However, some freeloaders have continued to find workarounds, forcing YouTube to escalate its efforts. Several Reddit users recently reported seeing absurdly long ads, ranging from 58 minutes to a staggering 10-hour segment.
One user even claimed to have encountered a 90-hour ad, though they provided no evidence. The strongest confirmation came when a Redditor shared an image of a two-hour and 52-minute ad playing before a 49-minute video.
Google Confirms Its Tactics
Google has officially confirmed that its standard unskippable ads remain capped at 15 seconds on mobile and 60 seconds on TV. However, it also reiterated that ads are crucial for supporting the platform and its creators. While YouTube does not serve hour-long ads to regular viewers, Google hinted that these excessive ads might be a deterrent for those using adblockers.
Some users speculated that the lengthy ads were a glitch, while others suggested that adblockers themselves might be interfering with YouTube’s normal ad-skipping functionality. Notably, YouTube also holds the right to stop video playback entirely for users who refuse to comply with its ad policies.
YouTube can get bent. I have an ad blocking app that they haven’t, or can’t, countered yet. App developers will keep updating to stop YouTube’s tactics. I will never give YouTube a single dime.