#ad blocker

TL;DR:

duckduckgo has joined Brave in blocking ads on YouTube by default

It seems that it’ll be also blocking video ads in general but YouTube is the focus

iOS, Windows, and Mac is on by default, but android is gonna be default later, with users able to turn it on in settings

It’s based filter list from Ublock origin, which is open source

full thing

“The browser is using filters from the uBlock Origin ad blocker to detect and block commercials on YouTube's website. “

DuckDuckGo says that

“DuckDuckGo now blocks most video ads! Use our free browser to get the full YouTube experience, minus the ads.

YouTube Ad Blocking joins our powerful lineup of browsing protections that manage cookie pop-ups, protect you from invasive tracker-based web ads, and more.

YouTube Ad Blocking is already on by default for most iPhone, Windows, and Mac users!

It will be auto-enabled for Android soon, but users can opt in via browser Settings in the meantime.”

It seems that it will include video ADS even beyond YouTube, but YouTube is the main focus here

“This new feature blocks ads that run before and during your videos, letting you watch YouTube without the interruptions.”

They’ve been protecting their users from ADs for a while now

“We block tracker-powered web ads before they can load.

We have Global Privacy Control enabled by default, expressing your opt-out rights by telling websites not to sell or share your personal information.

We can even manage cookie pop-ups behind the scenes, so you don’t have to deal with the distraction.”

They are joining the Brave browser that also turn off ads by default

how to turn on

It’s on by default if your on, default for iOS, Windows, and Mac

For android, it’ll be on by default soon, but you just need to go into settings and than ad blocking

You can do this for all devices to turn it off and and on

“Please note: if you’re on a mobile device, links to YouTube videos may open in the YouTube app by default.

To enjoy DuckDuckGo’s YouTube Ad Blocking, you need to open the YouTube website in the DuckDuckGo browser. It won’t work in the YouTube app.”

how it works

Their using a community driven filter list from Ublock Origin

This is open source and updated regularly

“As with most ad blockers, using our ad blocker can lead to some additional buffering times. But once your video loads, you won't be interrupted with ads.”

People love to complain about having to use an ad blocker or god forbid change a setting on their pc or phone to everyone who recommends these, saying this should not be necessary. Like yes, enshitification sucks, but you are expecting to be able to operate a complex device without operating the device. And when someone offers you knowledge on how to solve these issues you are complaining about, you get mad at them. Because you think the company, who offers the device/service that is fully enshitified, should just get the hint from you complaining to other people online, while continously paying said company money.

For the past few years, I've used a side feature of my ad-blocker add-on to make one small tweak (left pic) to Art Fight's page design. I just think it looks nicer?

Artfight constantly uses thumbnails to link to attack or character pages (example below) but also attaches said thumbs to the top of the page. 80% the time it's a crop of the image, so you're just staring at the same face twice (thrice if it's a chara page). As for the other 20%: this is more subjective, but I think custom image thumbnails are also cooler when they're not visible on their own page-- like there's a sort of beauty to making a decoration exclusive to the "front door" that you can't see from the inside.

Google is switching from manifest V2 to V3

“As early as March 2025, this rendered some extensions—including popular ad blockers such as uBlock Origin—suddenly unusable, even though it was still possible to access them with a workaround.

By the end of June, however, even that will no longer work.

A future release of Chrome will block all add-ons still based on Manifest V2.”

There might be some other work arounds in the future

“Here’s what we know for sure: once the change goes live, there’s no going back.

It will be significantly more difficult to use ad blockers like uBlock Origin.

Doing so would require using developer settings and making changes that would make the browser less stable.”

The blocking of ad blockers isn’t a direct attack, but more of a side effect of switching to V3, though that’s what the company says

V3 is meant to be more safe and prevent rogue browser extensions from interfering deeply with a user’s system.

“Given that there have been repeated instances of extensions posing a serious threat, it’s understandable that Google wants to prevent that from happening.

The fact that it can also hamper ad blockers with the same move is just a bonus that Google is unlikely to be too upset about.”