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YouTube's new anti-adblock measures

(iter.ca)
990 points smitop | 2 comments | 20 Jun 25 17:01 UTC | HN request time: 0.42s | source
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mycatisblack ◴[21 Jun 25 09:00 UTC] No.44335914[source]▶
Here’s something many people probably don’t know.

I live in a west-Eu country with several well-defined language borders. Each time we cross a border (on holiday), the youtube ads change language. When I’m logged in. I don’t have a driver’s license, yet the most common ad I get is for second hand cars. I’m in a relationship, yet I regularly get ads for dating sites. I have a job, get ads for jobhunting advice. And the other day I got an add specifically for people born before my birth-year minus one.

YouTube’s ads are on the same level as Spotify’s nagging for their subscription: it’s meant to annoy users into buying their ad-free plan. They use real ads as a thin veneer.

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AlienRobot ◴[21 Jun 25 10:36 UTC] No.44336368[source]▶
First it was "I hate how much ad companies track me and build profiles on me."

Now it is "I hate how ads are irrelevant."

People need to understand that ads will never be 100% perfect, otherwise you would buy something every time you saw an ad. 99.99% of the ads will miss the target, and that is normal. It would be insane if it worked any other way.

For what it is worth Google has a page where you can customize what sort of ads are relevant to you. https://support.google.com/My-Ad-Center-Help/answer/12155451...

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1. kerkeslager ◴[21 Jun 25 10:57 UTC] No.44336470[source]▶
> First it was "I hate how much ad companies track me and build profiles on me."

> Now it is "I hate how ads are irrelevant."

This is an HN echo-chamber complaint, made by people who work for advertisers trying to come up with a way to make their ads seem less awful.

The fact is, relevant ads aren't better. They're still ads, and ads are still inherently bad.

If I'm looking for a used car, I do not want to hear ads from Bob's Lemon Shop about why they're the best place to buy cars. If Bob's Lemon Shop is the best place to buy cars, I'll find that out from independent reviewers who have shopped their before. An ad from Bob's Lemon Shop is relevant to my interest, but that makes it worse because now I'm susceptible to manipulation by the company that paid the most for ads instead of making a more rational decision based on true information from unbiased sources. Having more relevant ads is not good for me, it's good for advertisers.

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2. jeffhuys ◴[21 Jun 25 15:53 UTC] No.44338477[source]▶
Ads of that kind tell me they need ads, which tells me they’re probably not doing too well, so I’ll avoid them