DuckDuckGo Can Now Block Ads on YouTube.
YouTube absolutely doesn’t want you using an ad blocker. Over the past couple of years, the company has tightened its grip on browsers and tools that prevent ads from appearing before (and during) videos on its site. This is part of a larger campaign by YouTube’s parent company, Google, to block ad blockers on its platforms , including, in particular, Chrome. This is understandable—ads are YouTube’s primary source of revenue—but for those of us who can’t use the internet without an ad blocker, watching YouTube with one is becoming increasingly difficult. Difficult, but not impossible.
DuckDuckGo lets you watch YouTube without ads.
On Wednesday, DuckDuckGo announced that its browser now blocks most video ads, including those on YouTube. The company claims its ad blocker can stop both pre-roll ads and mid-video ads. Ad blocking is nothing new for DuckDuckGo: the company claims its browser has blocked “intrusive ads” and “annoying pop-ups” before, but this is the first time the browser has included an ad blocker for video.
Perhaps the best feature is that the ad blocker is enabled by default: new users who install DuckDuckGo on their device don’t need to configure anything to take advantage of the tool. The same applies to existing users, provided they’ve updated their browser to the latest version: as long as you have the most current version of DuckDuckGo installed, the ad blocker will be enabled. However, there is one exception: DuckDuckGo for Android. While the company’s iOS, Windows, and Mac apps will run the ad blocker without intervention, Android users will need to toggle a switch to take advantage of the new feature. (DuckDuckGo says it will soon make this the default setting for Android users as well.)
The company claims to use filter lists from uBlock Origin to find and block ads on YouTube. DuckDuckGo warns that, like most ad blockers, videos may experience some buffering, but once fully loaded, playback will continue without interruption.
How to use the new DuckDuckGo ad blocker
As mentioned, you likely already have the DuckDuckGo ad blocker installed in your browser or app. But to be sure, make sure you’re using the latest version of DuckDuckGo. Then, go to Settings > Ad Blocking and enable the ad blocker.
Please note that to use this ad blocker, you must watch YouTube videos directly in the DuckDuckGo app or browser. Since your mobile device may attempt to open YouTube links in the YouTube app, you’ll need to open the link in DuckDuckGo, otherwise you’ll likely see ads.
You can also turn this feature on and off while watching a video. If you’re watching a YouTube video and feel you should support the creator with ad revenue, you can go to the settings and disable the ad blocker without reloading the video.