I'm seeing ads in YouTube videos

If you're a long-time user of AdBlock, you know we're in a constant battle to prevent ads from appearing on YouTube. If you are suddenly seeing ads on YouTube use the information below to rule out some of the most common reasons why ads might appear.

Note for mobile devices

YouTube is now using a technology that prevents consistent ad blocking in videos on mobile devices. This only impacts YouTube. The majority of ads should be blocked on most other sites you visit.

Are you seeing ads only on YouTube or do you see ads on other sites too?

If you're seeing ads on YouTube and on other sites, the steps in this article should help: Seeing unblocked ads? Start here!

If you've checked a few other sites and you only see ads on YouTube, continue with the steps below for more insight into why they might be appearing and what you can do.

Are you seeing a brief ad or a full-length ad?

If you’re using the desktop extension you may see a variety of different behaviors such as a very temporary black screen or a shortened ad. These are related to our efforts to stop ads from appearing for you.

If you're unsure, try pausing AdBlock and see if the ads are longer with AdBlock paused. If you are seeing a shorter ad or an ad that abruptly stops when AdBlock is enabled again (don't forget to refresh the page after unpausing), that's us doing our best to show you the least amount of ad possible.

Using Safari? Try a different browser.

If you're using Safari, it's more likely you will see ads as Apple limits the type of ad blocking we can provide. You may want to try using our desktop extension with Chrome or Edge where we're not as limited by what we can block. You can also try Firefox (though we sometimes face certain limitations there too).

Check for incompatible extensions.

Disable all your extensions except for AdBlock. Reload the page. Try to watch the video again. If you don't see any ads, then one of the extensions you disabled was somehow interfering with AdBlock. Re-enable each extension one-at-a-time, making sure to refresh YouTube each time to ensure it recognizes the change, until you find the one that makes ads appear. If you need to use one of these extensions, notify the extension's developers so they can fix the issue that's causing the interference.

Still seeing ads?

Before rating this article, if none of the steps above help please let us know so we can improve the effectiveness of this article.

Note for mobile devices

Still seeing ads?

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