Ads on YouTube start page no longer blocked

VariablePlasma

Until the latest update (at the time of writing this: 6.5.3206.39 (Stable channel) (64-Bit) Windows) Vivaldi blocked all ads on the YouTube start page.

With this update, ads now show up. I tried other browsers / ad-blockers, where they are still blocked. So it's probably not a YouTube update, but a bug in Vivaldi.

DoctorG

@VariablePlasma For me the sponsored ads are not visible on youtube page.

Pathduck

@VariablePlasma Hello and Welcome to the Vivaldi Community

It's not a bug, and not related to the update.
Vivaldi uses publicly maintained blocklists for its ad/tracker blocker, these are not controlled by Vivaldi.

Go to
Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracker & Ad Blocking > Manage Sources.
Make sure all enabled blocklists are updated by disabling and enabling them once. This happens on a schedule and on browser restart as well.
Make sure "Adblock Warning Removal List" and "Remove annoyances" is selected as well.

YouTube are also constantly changing their code to defeat adblockers. Sometimes blockers fail and ads show.

Pesala

@VariablePlasma Currently, I am not seeing ads on YouTube if I block trackers and ads using badge in the URL field.

Catweazle

@VariablePlasma, no ads on YT, using these adblocker lists

Default
https://downloads.vivaldi.com/lists/abp/abp-filters-anti-cv-current.txt
https://downloads.vivaldi.com/easylist/easylist-current.txt
+
https://github.com/StUser4pda/filtrite/releases/latest/download/bromite-4pda.txt
https://secure.fanboy.co.nz/fanboy-cookiemonster.txt
https://www.i-dont-care-about-cookies.eu/abp/

To avoid nags and blockings in YT, download this script in a folder (right click on the Install button, don't delete the script!) and drag it on the extension page (Ctrl+Shift+E) with developer mode activated, to install it as an extension

Welcome to the community, enjoy Vivaldi

VariablePlasma

Ah ok, had to add some more lists now and it's working again. Thanks!

Pesala

This is broken again. YouTube no longer allows ad-blockers.

The irony of Total Ad-blocker being advertised on my index page, made me smile. Then I visited their home page, only to find most of their page blocked by Vivaldi’s ad-blocker!

What a ridiculous situation this is! No one wants these ads. Some are totally inappropriate (violent games, etc.) or just misinformation, like a 500 watt plugin electric heater that “warms up a room in seconds” for the fraction of the power used by a conventional electric fan/convector/radiant heater.

I made myself a command chain button for History Back, Delay 100ms, History Forward, which skips the leading ads (but inline ads still show).

Can we get some updated lists that can work around YouTube’s ad-blocker detection?

barbudo2005

@Pesala Said:

Can we get some updated lists that can work around YouTube’s ad-blocker detection?

This, that uBO update daily, but not run in Vivaldi.

https://drhyperion451.github.io/does-uBO-bypass-yt/

So follow the recommendation of @Catweazle and use the script.

EricJH

@Catweazle said in Ads on YouTube start page no longer blocked:

To avoid nags and blockings in YT, download this script

+1
I had moved to uBO to circumvent YT blocking users using an adblocker. I am now running the script in tampermonkey alongside the Vivaldi blockers. Let's see how that works out.

barbudo2005

@EricJH

The options are:

1.- Vivaldi adblocker + Script

2.- uBO

In this case follow the instructions in this link:

https://www.reddit.com/r/uBlockOrigin/comments/18t9ush/youtube_detection_ads_breakages_2023_12_29_ubo/

EricJH

Thank you. That's indeed how I understand the situation.

I have been using uBO for past 8 weeks after I got 'busted' and had found the megathread they had set sup. I never looked at uBO and find it a very versatile tool. For now I am back with Vivaldi adblocker + script.

Catweazle

@EricJH, for me it's working fine.
PS. Tampermonkey isn't needed in Vivaldi, you can install userscripts directly as extension.
Download the script in a folder (don't delete it) and drag it in the Extension page (Ctrl+Shift+E) in developer mode to install it.

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Although the script has some drawbacks that may be somewhat annoying. You Tube with this no longer records which Videos you have seen and which not, causing them to continue appearing in the suggestions and apart from this, the playlists will no longer work, they only jump from one video to the next as soon as they load.
But for this case I still use Invidious, Piped or SMplayer on desktop, instead of YT.

EricJH

@Catweazle
I had seen the option to install the script as an extension and I may try that on another occasion. I happened to have tampermonkey installed so I chose that route.

@Catweazle said in Ads on YouTube start page no longer blocked:

the playlists will no longer work, they only jump from one video to the next as soon as they load.

Odd thing happened. It is not something I noticed on my system except with one of my Vivaldi stable installations. Notice I have a triple boot system and the issue only happened on my Windows Insider Canary build. It did not happen either on my Inisder builds on all three Windows installations.

I made a test profile on the Vivaldi stable and playlists started to play normally. Back to the main profile I got it to work by deleting cache Storage, Cache and Application cache of all time and restarting the browser. You could give that a try.

I had played around a bit with restarting Vivaldi with the youtube tab not being the active tab so that the browser start with a non youtube tab (I have my browser set to start with the Last Session). That way the youtube tab is not playing when you clean cache. It could be a factor in the process. Once the playlist is skipping you cannot stop it hence why I decided to restart the browser with another tab active to make sure the cleaning would be done without youtube filling it at the same time.

@Catweazle said in Ads on YouTube start page no longer blocked:

You Tube with this no longer records which Videos you have seen and which not, causing them to continue appearing in the suggestions

I am not that observant when it comes to youtube but I will try to keep that in mind.

EricJH

I cheered too early. The problem came back. I don't know why. I will have to do some more testing and trying. It started after and add came through. I will try a new test profile for multiple hours to see how that will go.

Edit: I have YouTube - Skip Ads by Komposten running in Tampermonkey alongside youtube iframe adblocker.

barbudo2005

@EricJH

Delete the "YouTube - Skip Ads by Komposten" script.

EricJH

Thank you. Could you tell why it is not needed? On 5 of 6 Vivaldi installations it seems to work nicely side by side with Youtube iFrame Blocker except for the one mentioned Vivaldi installation. I am suspecting that the profile of that one installation is dirty and will do a clean install over the weekend.

I will try disabling YouTube - Skip Ads at one point. It never hurts to cut back on something that might be covered by another script.

Cheers.

Catweazle

@EricJH, if you use an adblocker and apart the iFrame script, the Skip Ads extension logically is redundant, with the adblocker there are no ads to skip.

EricJH

@Catweazle Thank you. I was wondering about that.

EricJH

@Catweazle said in Ads on YouTube start page no longer blocked:

the playlists will no longer work, they only jump from one video to the next as soon as they load.

I did the clean install of the one installation of Vivaldi in which this occurred and it did no longer show up. Across six Vivaldi installation across three Windows installation (one Vivaldi stable and one Vivaldi snapshot on each of the following: Windows 11, WIndows 11 Insider beta and Windows 11 Canary) the skipping does not happen.

I think your profile may be causing the issue.

I am using Youtube iFrame Blocker in Tampermonkey and with a long playlist it uses noticeable more CPU resources when the tab is first accessed. Do you know if there is a difference in performance between using the script as an extension and in Tampermonkey?

Catweazle

@EricJH , maybe tere is an difference between Tampermonkey + script and the script as is. I don't know.
Anyway I use YT in any case only occasionally, to insert a video in a post and things like that. I mainly use only front-ends like Invidious or Piped, or Freetube and SMPlayer on desktop (you can combine both*, SMplayer when FreeTube fails, it streams almost everything). To simply listen to music, I use this one too, where I also don't have to get pissed about interruptions with ads, 24/7 music non stop of every genre you like.

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