By now, YouTube’s ads have reached unprecedented levels, and that’s a given. Additionally in the United States the price of the Premium service has increased to $15.9, while in Italy fortunately we are still at €13.9.
As a result, it’s not that difficult to find users desperately seeking an alternative that is legal, safe and free at the same time. DuckDuckGo has recently announced a significant update for its browser, introducing a native feature capable of blocking YouTube video ads on the famous Google platform.
DuckDuckGo updates and introduces a very inviting feature: blocking YouTube ads directly through the browser
For users on iOS, Windows and Mac, the ad blocking on YouTube is already active by default, simply requiring that the application be updated to the latest available version.
The situation for the Android world is slightly different: although the feature is already integrated, at the moment it must be activated manually by navigating to the browser settings and selecting the option related to ad blocking on YouTube, awaiting a release that will make it pre-set on this platform as well.
However, it’s good to keep in mind that the block works only when browsing the YouTube site through the DuckDuckGo browser, and is not extended to the official YouTube app installed on the smartphone.
From the point of view of internal operation, DuckDuckGo hasn’t reinvented the wheel but has chosen to rely on an effective solution, using the open-source community filter lists from uBlock Origin. The system allows intercepting and blocking advertising scripts before they can be executed, ensuring an uninterrupted viewing experience both at the start and during videos.
Users may notice slightly longer loading times or more pronounced initial buffering than traditional browsing, but this is a normal effect, largely offset by the clean final experience.
The recent history shows that Google is particularly active in countering ad-blockers, as demonstrated by the recent changes related to browser extensions. For this reason, third-party options are often perceived as risky for data security, and this is where the advantages of DuckDuckGo come in, presenting itself as a reliable and, above all, free choice.
