Did YouTube finally kill adblocking apps like SmartTube? - Tons of unusual 403 / forbidden errors

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If Google kills YouTube adblocking what will you do?

  • I'll stop watching YouTube entirely

    Votes: 873 62.0%
  • I'll start watching the ads again

    Votes: 50 3.5%
  • I'll watch the ads but use YouTube less frequently

    Votes: 364 25.8%
  • I'll pay for YouTube premium like a faggot

    Votes: 122 8.7%

  • Total voters
    1,409
I know it accomplishes nothing, and is more likely than not a total waste of my few couple precious seconds, but I've taken an enjoyment to reporting anything with "AI" slop as spam, be it clickbait thumbnail or grating TTS voice, especially the Tik Tok one. You know, the one. The cadence and inflection makes me want to fellate a glock. It accomplishes nothing in the big picture, but at least it stops the channel from being show to me.
 
I didn't even know it said "Designed by Apple in California" until I took that photo.
I've had absolute crap luck with Apple adapters/cables of any kind. They often have a really nice look and feel to them but fall apart in under a year. Meanwhile all my chinkware cables and adapters, as ugly as they are, seem to last forever.
 
Is there a way to block ads for the YouTube app on a Samsung TV? It has to be easily accessible because kids use the TV.
 
One of the suggestions I've seen in the war on ads is that if it ever reaches a point where the ads can no longer be blocked, the next step is concealing ads, where the ad remains, but software covers up the ad and mutes any audio.
 
Is there a way to block ads for the YouTube app on a Samsung TV? It has to be easily accessible because kids use the TV.
I don't know, but there most likely isn't a simple method that can be applied on-device without doing various mildly complicated bits of network fuckery. The remaining methods probably won't also block all the sneak deadly gangster nigger gangstalker tracking bullshit, either. Try this simple 3-step plan:
  1. Destroy and dispose of the niggercattle smart TV, preferably by using something like thermite after reducing the accursed IoT device to tiny fragments first.
  2. Get an actual computer and hook it up to a white people monitor.
  3. Use invidious or freetube. If the kids that were using the smart TV can't figure those out, they are hopeless niggercattle and don't fucking deserve to watch YouTube videos anyway.
 
  • Winner
Reactions: Pee Cola
It's a bit cucked to instantly claim that there's no POSSIBLE solution that would at the very least waste some of their resources trying to work around it every update, so nobody should even try
What I mean is, it's the reality of the situation, it's not a claim. A browser extension (boxed in by standards that Google themselves forced onto the whole market) that circumvents ads will have no benefit from being closed source because it's trivial to reverse it. The autists stumbling over public repositories with these things, and spending a Saturday pushing out code to github instead of pushing out a stranger's cock like you do — these people are the only reason we still have adblockers and piracy

because you are an illiterate nigger
you take that back right now
 
YouTube Adblocker Wars Update:
July 14 2024

@Null fyi

There is a little good news but mostly bad news on multiple fronts.
  • General
    • Browser level adblocking of YT still works (hurray)
    • NewPipe released a hotfix in version 0.27.1 that lets videos play again
    • But....
    • YouTube is injecting "unblockable" ads directly into the stream container (sporadic reports of this confirmed by frens on mobile within North America)
    • As we suspected, it's now been 100% confirmed that the same underlying "403" issue is affecting multiple third-party YouTube applications including yt-dlp, NewPipe, SmartTube, FreeTube, and others.
    • Commits made to SmartTube, NewPipe, and app analysis indicate that YouTube has made significant undocumented changes server-side at the API level that have not yet been fully understood, appreciated, or resolved
    • The purpose of these changes appears to be systematically break third-party apps without affecting YouTube's core infrastructure
    • Google's method is complex and appears to involve alterations to persistent cookies, data caching, obfuscation, throttling, and "anti bot" validation and verification procedures
    • All YouTube third-party apps named above (with the exception of yt-dlp) no longer have vp9 codecs or resolutions above 1080p available. This is strong evidence that YouTube's intent is to freeze out non-Google applications rather than just upgrading their API or banning bots.
    • It seems that all HDR (high dynamic range) content on YouTube is also now unavailable in the third-party apps, given that (I think) HDR on YouTube requires the now-unavailable vp9 codec
    • These are clearly attacks on third-party apps by Google / YouTube

  • SmartTube
    • Can play videos again with latest version, but...
    • VP9 and AV1 codecs still disabled by YouTube
    • No high resolution or HDR videos available
    • Resolution capped by YouTube at 1080p
    • Closed Captioning is totally broken now on SmartTube suddenly working again 07/15
    • Livestreams only are rewindable to the last 60 mins (not unlimited stream buffers anymore).
  • NewPipe
    • Most all the same issues as SmartTube
    • No resolution above 1080p
    • No VP9 / AV1 codecs
    • Closed Captioning does work
    • The 403 problem of unplayable videos was recently solved in version 0.27.1
  • ReVanced
    • Does play videos but...
    • Videos appear limited to 1080p max
    • No VP9 codec
    • No HDR videos
    • Closed Captioning does work

SmartTube commit excerpt
Screenshot_20240713-133204.png

NewPipe commit excerpts
Screenshot_20240714-030628.png
Screenshot_20240714-050606.png
Screenshot_20240714-030910.png

Recent commits to SmartTube, yt-dlp, and NewPipe show similar kind of complex problems originating from the Google server side, and which currently have no additional obvious workarounds besides the ones already discovered and pushed.

403 errors common across numerous apps





If you are having trouble with any app mentioned here, upgrade to the latest version of your app on GitHub.

Good luck frens. Download all video media that's important to you.
 
Last edited:
Invidious instances and Piped still work in terms of third party leeching sites. Since they have been able to weather the YouTube 403 storm, they can hypothetically be used as models to crack YouTube's code changes.

Plus, as YouTube has gotten so aggressive about this so suddenly, they have really kicked the hornets nest in terms of a backlash among the people who make and use these third-party apps so there will be a solution soon, because as soon as somebody gets around it, the other app-makers will follow suit.

Never underestimate the power of a bunch of cheesed-off programmer spergs.
 
This also appears to be 'not a thing' with linux. My household contains both linux and windows pcs. The windows 7 pc has constant issues with adblocking no matter the browser, extension, etc., used, but the linux pc has none of those issues, ever, including using third party applications like freetube (not using the latest either). As an additional 'thing', windows 7 virtualbox on the linux pc also doesn't have issues.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: dead76
They can inject their ads right into Neal Mohan's nuts.
 
ReVanced
  • Does play videos but...
  • Videos appear limited to 1080p max
  • No VP9 codec
I'm not sure if I'm checking it correctly but I don't seem to have this limitation. I'm not in the US though. I also haven't experienced any injected ads either. ReVanced version 19.16.39.
Rev2.jpg
 
  • Thunk-Provoking
Reactions: Ann
This looks suspiciously like an attempt by YouTube to kill adblocking applications through its API.
Internet advertising sucks.

Like I said, I've always disliked pushy internet ads. First it was just banner ads, which quickly became distracting animated GIFs. Search results soon got clogged up with advertisements. Then came spy cookies and popup. Then ads with sound. Then spyware and adware got big. Then ads inserted into videos and video ads. Then search engines got clogged up with advertisements again. Now it's Current Year with all that clown crap like almost every phone call being a scam call or robocall. And of course there is all that crap YT is trying to pull. In a better world, that "free software spirit" would run a decentralized 'net, instead of corporations trying to turn the 'net into TV 2.0.
 
SmartTube latest beta can still play 4K60 videos fine, no HDR however. VP9 codec only for anything about 1080p60, but AV1 still works fine at 1080p60.

ReVanced, even on my month-old patch can also still play 4K60 videos. Not sure if it has an option to select codec but since it is playing VP9 I assume the same issue from before carries over.

Also, does anyone know of any Android apps that can auto-update ReVanced? Annoying to have to manually download the newest APK and manually patch it in the app and install.
 
Adblockers are still working on my end, both in Brave and Ublock origin on Firefox. However, if they finally kill adblocking for YouTube, that will be my final straw. I already use the site way less than I used to, I can live without it.
The problem is most non-political CCs are there or on Twitch. It's now just a mega-monopoly. So unless we see a 80 - 90% userbase exodus you're just fucked at this point.
 
Youtube ReVanced is having a problem where the app just turns off completely the connection (on the app, not the phone) and you have to reset your phone to use it again.

It's not that bad if I can still use the app, but it is a little annoying, you have to stay on the app because if you close it, it will shutdown the internet again.
 
The problem is most non-political CCs are there or on Twitch. It's now just a mega-monopoly. So unless we see a 80 - 90% userbase exodus you're just fucked at this point.
It will never happen. Unless somebody can make something that's much more convenient for the end user. Let's not forget a big part of the user base are from the Third World. They have zero standards or expectations.
 
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