Why Are Your YouTube Videos Suddenly Skipping to the End?

YouTube has been continuously trying to disable ad blockers on its platform. From prominent pop-ups that shame users for using ad blockers to outright blocking videos, the Google-owned site has been implementing new tactics to reduce the use of third-party apps like AdBlock Plus. Now, YouTube seems to have taken a more drastic step by causing videos to skip to the end for some users with ad blockers installed.

On Monday, Reddit user u/SDHD4K shared a video showing YouTube’s latest anti-ad blocker measure, where the video they selected automatically skipped to the end with Adblock Plus enabled. Other users in the thread confirmed experiencing the same issue, while some reported that YouTube was muting videos when their ad blocker was active. Some commenters downplayed the problem, suggesting that the AdBlock Plus team would likely resolve the issue quickly.

The recent surge in YouTube ads and the increased cost of Google’s YouTube Premium subscription have likely driven more users to install ad blockers. Ads can be intrusive, and they can also expose users to malware. Even the FBI recommends using ad blockers for safer web browsing.

If this latest YouTube tactic sounds frustrating, that’s intentional. The company aims to make the ad blocker experience so inconvenient that users will disable them, either tolerating the ads or subscribing to YouTube Premium. However, there are alternatives for those who don’t want to endure long, unskippable ads to watch short videos.

Based on user feedback, most issues seem to affect programs like AdBlock or AdBlock Plus (which are unrelated). Users running alternatives such as uBlock Origin have reported no problems. Some have switched from AdBlock or started using browsers like Brave, which has a built-in ad blocker, to avoid these issues. While this isn’t a guaranteed solution, it might be worth trying if you’re facing these problems. It’s also possible that this behavior is unintended by YouTube, but without an official statement, it’s difficult to say for sure.