157 points
*

If this goes live, I’m out. YT premium is my most expensive subscription, but I watch enough YouTube that I’m OK with it, especially considering that it supports creators more than ad viewers. If I still get ads? Nah dawg. I’ll divy up that money amongst patreons or whatever, and install add blockers.

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27 points
*

If your main reason for paying premium is for ad blocking, I’d suggest just cancelling it now and using ad blockers. If you want to support creators, I’d say that it’s better to cancel and subscribe to a few patreons - I’d pick some of the smaller creators you like, to spread some of that support around a bit.

If you use iOS devices for watching YouTube, look into side-loading uYou+, it’s basically an edited YouTube app that removes most of the ads. You can stream from your phone to the apple TV, too, also without ads.

Not sure what the android equivalent is, but someone else will know - hopefully they will share in the comments also.

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31 points

Why don’t you just cancel it now and use ad blockers?

Joel explains this in the second sentence: “I’m OK with it, especially considering that it supports creators more than ad viewers”

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3 points

I mean you can probably support all the creators you like in other ways: Buying merch, donating onetime, signing up for a patreon, subscribing to nebula (if they are on there), …

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3 points

Ah, sorry, that’ll teach me to read more carefully. Thanks for pointing it out <3

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12 points

ReVanced is great on Android, it also enables other YouTube premium features such as picture-in-picure mode.

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4 points

I used to use Vanced but switched to Newpipe, as it is noticeably lighter (also at least for me, downloads did not properly work while they were fine on Newpipe).

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8 points

Reasonable advice, but I’d note that I pay for premium and patreon specifically because I can only afford patreon for a few creators. I’d rather pay everyone I watch. While YouTube isn’t perfect, I like the service enough that I don’t mind paying for it.

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3 points

Yeah, of course - you should do what you think is best. I was thinking that if everyone cancels their YT Premium and signs up for a few Patreons, distributed as randomly as possible (which is why I said to go for the smaller creators) then overall creators would get more money, while we’d still be paying less. Everyone wins - except Google, but fuck Google!

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4 points

I use it because it came with Play Music, now YouTube Music. I’ll just switch to Spotify if I see them.

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7 points

I stopped using streaming platforms personally and just went back to pirating music. Personally I don’t want to support Spotify because they continue to support far-right ideology with their podcasts, but that’s a completely personal decision.

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3 points

Wait… You can sideload on ios? Since when?

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1 point
*

Since at least a couple of years ago - it requires a bit of jumping through hoops, but it’s 100% worth it to get ad-free YouTube on iPhone!

You can do it in any country as far as I know, it’s not EU-only.

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1 point

You can only aideload 2 apps (alt store is one of them)

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1 point

not on US devices without jailbreaking, but I think you can on EU devices.

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3 points

You’re suggesting turning a $15 or so YouTube bill into a $50+ Patreon bill depending on what creators they watch

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1 point

SmartTubeNext has been working fairly well for me for like 5 years or something. It’s super easy to side load on a Fire stick.

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146 points

I guess they are premium ads?

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78 points

this but unironically

advertisers paid a premium

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21 points

Ad companies have the new subscription tier of Premium Buster, so now you have to upgrade to Premium Buster Buster

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4 points

You can’t triple stamp a double stamp, you can’t triple stamp a double stamp!

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2 points

I love seeing a Big Hit reference. Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one who’s ever seen that movie.

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1 point

Good one! 🤣

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130 points

u/Dangerous-Pizza7054 from the article,

Seems like the user tracking “special promotion” overrides the premium. They don’t even say whether it’s expected or not. But my take away is that paying for premium may or may not show you ads, but you are definitely tracked and harvested for data. (Maybe even more so, since, well, you are more valuable to them.)

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34 points

ublock is cheaper and actually works

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29 points

So premium users put their data on a pedestal for Google? That’s fun

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14 points

That’s generally; if you have an account, you are easier to track for them.

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20 points

I got the same Sunday banner in the middle of the screen similar to where shorts show up. Never in my life have I watched or cared for American football. Clearly a waste of money for the advertising company since I just closed it by pressing the x same as shorts on desktop.

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16 points

Well yes, you didn’t get first ads. But what about second ads?

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16 points

That has been my specific issue with paying for any Google product always. I understand when I am using a product for free that I am not necessarily the customer and that money has to be made off of me or the users more generally somehow. That’s “fine” (ish, not really, but that has more to do with issues of security than anything).

However when I pay for a product or service, I want to now be the customer and I want to be in control of my data and have the company cater to me. If, when paying for a Google service, there was some legally relevant things in place that insured I was no longer being tracked and used to generate revenue via third parties I would gladly pay. Probably more than they are charging now, but instead they want to have it both ways which is just not OK with me.

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8 points

At least a subscription includes YouTube music? Isn’t that interesting and relevant.

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8 points

That part of the support email almost made me puke of how fucking awful it was. “Why complain about ads when you get YouTube Music for free by paying us money”

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2 points

I would cancel that subscription SOOO FAST.

I’d argue that YTMusic is a superior product to YT, but both put together aren’t worth anywhere near the cost. You can get a premium TV/Movie service for that price with family access.

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5 points

Wait, I haven’t seen ads on YouTube Premium (yet), and I’m just now realizing this could very likely be because Google knows my wife and I don’t watch sports.

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1 point

“With YouTube Premium, enjoy ad-free access, downloads, and background play on YouTube and YouTube Music.”

In Australia, if they reneg on this headline promise, doesn’t matter what’s in the fine print, this would be refundable under Australian Consumer Law (not a lawyer).

What bullshit, and how silly on their part, since it’s just so much more convenient to block ads instead of paying

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-2 points

We’ve GOT A PAYERR OVER HEREEEEE!!!

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64 points

What ads? (User without premium, but proper browser and adblocker)

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15 points

Firebox mobile + unlock origin extension + YouTube.com.

You get everything that YouTube premium can offer. Including screen off play.

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2 points

personaldnsfilter + the Youtube app. Fuck ads.

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1 point

On mobile you can use ReVanced.

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1 point

Don’t you still have to patch it and repack it every update?

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4 points

What I find the most hilarious is that on a rooted Android phone there is an app that hooks into the YouTube app and eliminates adds in it. Even when my PC with Firefox and UBlock get temporarily blocked in the battle between Google and ad blockers my phone using the standard app still doesn’t have adds.

I don’t know something about it is very satisfying to me.

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3 points

Do you mind sharing the name of the app please?

Although I always use NewPipe / Tubular and Revanced as a backup solution.

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4 points

It’s an LSposed/XPosed based app called YouTube Adaway. It also enables background playback.

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2 points

Just use Grayjay.

Or if not that amazing app, the Revanced app.

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1 point

ReVanced works without rooting the phone

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49 points

whos gonna prosecute any of this shit now

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28 points

Oh they will prosecute! They will prosecute people with adblocks and alternative clients.

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