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Are YouTube’s New Floating Ads Driving You Crazy? Here’s What You Need to Know
YouTube watchers are getting more upset each day. The video site keeps making ads harder to avoid. Many people say they can’t find the skip button anymore. New floating ads now pop up right over videos too.
What’s Really Happening to Skip Buttons?
Regular YouTube users see something different now. The skip button that used to show up after five seconds is hard to find. Some people see black boxes where the button should be. Others say the button never shows up at all.
YouTube says they didn’t remove the skip button completely. A company person told news sites that “on skippable ads, the button appears after 5 seconds into playback, as always”. But many users don’t believe this. They see ads they can’t skip even when they should be able to.
The company claims they are “reducing elements on the ads player” to help people “engage more deeply with the ad through a cleaner experience”. This sounds fancy, but it really means they made it harder to skip ads.
New Floating Ads Make Things Worse
Mobile app users now deal with floating popup ads too. These ads appear on top of videos and block what you’re watching. One user said “trying to swipe it down either doesn’t work at all or takes me to the app store page”.
These floating ads stay on screen even after you close the video. The only way to get rid of them is to close the whole app. This makes watching videos much harder and more annoying.
YouTube Wants You to Pay for Premium
All these changes push people toward YouTube Premium. The paid service costs $14 per month and removes most ads. YouTube also offers Premium Lite for $8 monthly, but this still shows some ads.
By making free YouTube worse, the company hopes more people will pay for Premium. This business plan upsets many longtime users who remember when the site was easier to use.
How to Deal with the Ad Problem
You have several choices if ads bother you:
- Get YouTube Premium – Costs money but removes most ads
- Use ad blocker apps – Total Adblock still works on mobile phones
- Watch in different browsers – Brave browser blocks many ads
- Try third-party YouTube apps – Apps like ReVanced remove ads but may not be safe
The Future Looks Difficult
YouTube keeps testing new ways to show more ads. They now use AI to find the best moments in videos to place ads. The company also fights harder against ad blockers.
These changes show YouTube cares more about making money than keeping users happy. Long-time watchers remember when the site felt more user-friendly. Now it feels like a battle between YouTube and the people who watch videos there.
The big question remains: How many people will put up with more ads before they find other places to watch videos? YouTube seems willing to test how far they can push viewers before they give up completely.