Early this year, Google announced that they would be cracking down on adblockers on their video-sharing platform YouTube.
This means that you cannot watch videos on YouTube if you have an adblocker enabled. But how do they detect your usage of adblockers? Below are some techniques they might be using.
Detection of JavaScript
One of the most popular ways YouTube detects adblockers is through JavaScript. Google will include specific JavaScript codes which check if certain advertising elements are being blocked.
If the codes detect the elements are being interfered with, then they know that an ad blocker is being used and thus, it can then interfere with the ad blocker.
Detection of Request Blocking
Adblocker work by blocking loading of ad-related sources. This means that scripts, images or such which are ads are detected and blocked from loading. Now, the website fighting the adblocker, in this instance, YouTube, will often analyze requests made by the browser.
If they notice that there are specific scheduled ad-related attachments that are absent, the website suspects use of an adblocker.
Detecting Element Hiding
Another way of detecting adblockers is through hiding specific HTML elements associated with ads. These include invisible divs or hidden images. If the website checks these elements and see they are not visible, it is a sign of an enabled adblocker and they can then force you to stop using it.
Use of anti-adblock scripts
The use of anti-adblock script has been around for long and has been used to detect adblockers. These scripts, once they detect and have adblocker enabled, display notifications, pop-ups, and error messages requesting you to disable the adblocker to access the website.
The above are some of the tools that YouTube could use to detect your usage of adblockers on their site. Note that sometimes, you might be unable to access YouTube videos if you have an ad blocker enabled.
