One of the great things about switching over to Linux has been the complete lack of ads. On Windows, you cannot move without ads ruing your day.
So, when I first booted YouTube up - fantastic! Not an ad to be seen. Now they are back in full force.
Anyone else experienced this?
How did Google break through my Linux safety-wall?
What Browser do You use? Do You use any AdBlocker or Privacy Saving Browser Extensions?
I am using Vivaldi.
I have not used a blocker yet, as (until today) it just worked out of the box. More than anything, I am curious about what broke down to let the ads in. However, it would be good to have a recommendation for the best blockers on Linux.
I have used Firefox with uBlock Origin on both Windows and Linux for years, and have not seen any YouTube ads in all that time. Its a shock when I see YouTube on some other device.
Even more of a shock when ads turn up on Linux. Thanks for the recommendation - I will give it a try.
@AlbertMoon: That should offer You the best Experience. You could use then Firefox only for YouTube and for the Rest continuing with Vivaldi.
Vivaldi itself offers a built-in AdBlocker but using an additional one could be worth a Try. But uBlock Origin is not available for Vivaldi but You could use uBlock Origin Lite instead.
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GnuLinux has no bearing on browser ads. That is external and piped in over the net connection. It takes place within the browser and within the webpages; not the Operating System.
YouTube was bought by and is now owned by Google. And yes... Google has been utterly Off Their Rocker with the YouTube ads since they bought it.
They have also been active in working around Ad Blockers, which they claim interferes with their Rights to inundate us with relentless advertising.
YouTube, when it was self owned, was annoying with ads but tolerable. A 5 minute video might have three ad interruptions. Since Google took over, a 5 minute video can now have Fifteen Ad interruptions if no blockers are used. Often, within the first 20 seconds of the video playing, it already throws an ad up.
It's.... Utterly Insane.
And of course... Nothing to put a stop to Google. Because the end users will just tolerate it.
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I totally agree with all of that - watching Youtube without an add blocker is pretty much intolerable - and yeah, people sleepwalk into whatever they are given, without thinking.
I had assumed that it was Linux's security that was blocking the ads - but it was actually the Vivaldi browser.
Vivaldi is pretty nifty for security, not only does it have a generral on/off switch for cookies and ads, but you can click an icon (of a shield) in the search bar and bring up all the fine details about any site you are on.
Using this, I noticed that ads for youtube were switched off, even though they started cropping up again - but cookies were on (turned off browser-wide, but cookies were still active on youtube) - turned them off, and boy Youtube did not like that at all - disabling cookies basically made Youtube inoperable. so, I had to turn them on again. 
However, when I went back, the ads were gone again (hooray!). I am not sure if toggling the cookies off and on fixed it, or if it was just a fluke. If the ads come back, I will try again.
If that does not work, I will try @ Ponce-De-Leon's idea, and install uBlock (which I will install anyway). Thinking about it, having a specific browser just for youtube is a pretty sensible idea - easier to dig out a solution, without effecting all other tabs.
Thanks guys.
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Hi everyone, LocalTub Manager might be helpful.
Or maybe
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Thanks I have tried similar (i.e. Freetube).
They do work great for getting rid of ads - and forcing 'shorts' down your neck (why is this so important for Google?). However, there are two issues I have (this is specific to Freetube, but I am guessing it is the same here also):
- These sort of sites just stream from Youtube. Great, but it means that it blocks the stream of revenue for creators.
- There is a lot of work getting things up and running - i.e. remaking all of your subscriptions etc.
Also, these Yourtube streamers (Freetube at least) are not very good at suggesting similar content, and I have found many great channels through suggestions.
Other than that, these apps are a viable alternative.
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