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
Can't speak for anyone else, but Youtube-dlp works on my end after updating it to the latest version.

Also, they finally fixed the ability to download comments on Tartube. Though granted, the actual video download seems slower than usual.

As of today, however, seems YouTube is trying to get sneaky with inserting political ads.

Screenshot from 2024-07-25 12-49-28.png

This popped up a few times while I was watching videos, but thankfully I was able to skip them immediately. At most, all i get is a freeze frame of this woman's face and the actual video plays after five seconds. I am hoping with a new update, Ublock Origin will purge this face from my feed. Other than that, nothing else to report on my end.
 
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Can't speak for anyone else, but Youtube-dlp works on my end after updating it to the latest version.

Also, they finally fixed the ability to download comments on Tartube. Though granted, the actual video download seems slower than usual.

As of today, however, seems YouTube is trying to get sneaky with inserting political ads.

View attachment 6233654

This popped up a few times while I was watching videos, but thankfully I was able to skip them immediately. At most, all i get is a freeze frame of this woman's face and the actual video plays after five seconds. I am hoping with a new update, Ublock Origin will purge this face from my feed. Other than that, nothing else to report on my end.
I'm not the only one then I'm getting that too I'll get a video going and it'll show the ad time and be a black screen for three four seconds then go to the skip ad with a freezeframe.
 
Can't speak for anyone else, but Youtube-dlp works on my end after updating it to the latest version.

Also, they finally fixed the ability to download comments on Tartube. Though granted, the actual video download seems slower than usual.

As of today, however, seems YouTube is trying to get sneaky with inserting political ads.

View attachment 6233654

This popped up a few times while I was watching videos, but thankfully I was able to skip them immediately. At most, all i get is a freeze frame of this woman's face and the actual video plays after five seconds. I am hoping with a new update, Ublock Origin will purge this face from my feed. Other than that, nothing else to report on my end.
It does this on uBlock and Brave too lmao. Atleast it's something.
 
Big issue for me is that NewPipe was knocked out by this latest change. Besides being my preferred method of downloading videos to listen at work, I also stream ambience videos at I sleep.

It's really annoying to go to bed too late and find all my playlists won't work and gotta stream one long one via Invidious.
 
Does GrayJay work well on Android TV systems? SmartTube keeps giving 403 pretty much every day so I have to update every day which is getting annoying since I have to set up a wireless adb connection and install the apk.
 
Does GrayJay work well on Android TV systems?
It seems like GrayJay is focused on Android phone users, but I can't see why it wouldn't work with an Android TV. You can download the apk from the GrayJay website.

Whilst FUTO asks for a one-time license fee, you can use it indefinitely for free without any nag screens (at least as far as I'm aware, as I bought a license after using GrayJay for a couple days and deciding I liked it better than the other unofficial Android YT apps out there).
 
Other than using Adnauseam, how can I cause quantifiable financial harm to jewgle and everyone involved in creating and peddling ads? Can I reasonably snitch to feds that certain ads sexualize minors/misgender some lgbt freaks or promote hate and cause their creators/peddlers any harm? I have spare time to be petty and vindictive, and I've seen an ad recently which infuriated me.
 
It seems like GrayJay is focused on Android phone users, but I can't see why it wouldn't work with an Android TV. You can download the apk from the GrayJay website.

Whilst FUTO asks for a one-time license fee, you can use it indefinitely for free without any nag screens (at least as far as I'm aware, as I bought a license after using GrayJay for a couple days and deciding I liked it better than the other unofficial Android YT apps out there).
Did some testing last night, and there's a bit of a different way to do it. Usually I am casting from Revanced to SmartTube but it seems like GrayJay on phone has multiple casting options. Chromecast would connect but wouldn't play anything, so I tried their FCast thing which all you need to do is install the receiver on the TV box and then get the IP and enter it into GrayJay (or scan a QR code). If this doesn't work then go into the settings and find the option to always proxy casting, it worked for me.

Only issue is that unfortunately you cannot use a remote on the GrayJay app when you install it to the TV, and the app is locked into portrait mode anyways. This isn't too big of a deal, but it's nice for people to be able to come over and put on whatever they want. Some people like to cast from the YouTube app as well which would work with SmartTube, so maybe I'll just have to redpill them on GrayJay now.

I think this is the best way for people that usually cast from their phone to their TV. I was hesitant before to use the app because I didn't know it had casting, but FCast is better than what most other apps are offering. GrayJay will most likely become my primary YouTube app as well.
 
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Used youtube on my workpc today to listen to a podcast, no adblock and the first ad I see is for 'Lovehoney' which is a porn/sex toy shop. On a podcast about cooking; on a computer with locked down 'strict' safesearch settings. Next was an AI generated zoomer trying to scam me about missold car insurance. After that it was an ad every 5 minutes. Normally something like 'EAT KFC!!' But there'd sometimes be shitty temu products with AI voices, or crypto scams.

Boggles the fucking mind; the slop that youtube puts out as adverts. Why on earth does anyone willingly subject themselves to this? After 20 minutes I turned it off, put my headphones in, used my phone adblocked site and rolled the dice that no important boomerfaggot with a stick up their ass would walk past and sperg at me for 'being on my phone'.
 
This is probably already well known in this thread but YouTube on Brave for Android has always consistently worked to block out all ads and it will continue playing music outside of the tab even if you switch to another app.

It's not as good as something like ReVanced but it's at least consistent.
 
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I use a Russian vpn and I don’t get ads at all on YouTube, twitch, or any adsense crap at all. Unfortunately it seems Russia wants to slow YouTube down so it might not be the best option eventually.
 
Tubular and most Invidious instances have already adapted to and overcome YouTube's second attempt at blocking third party websites and apps, as I knew would happen. Google's legions of IT trannies are no match for the sheer autistic might of hobbyist programmers.
 
Tubular and most Invidious instances have already adapted to and overcome YouTube's second attempt at blocking third party websites and apps, as I knew would happen. Google's legions of IT trannies are no match for the sheer autistic might of hobbyist programmers.
It won't play Age-Restricted videos though.
 
Did anyone mention yet that Newpipe broke again? YouTube made an update that nobody wanted for umpteenth time.
 
Did anyone mention yet that Newpipe broke again? YouTube made an update that nobody wanted for umpteenth time.
Google is an lolcow of a company and they are sperging out in a temper tantrum as they are fighting a losing battle in trying to stop a tiny fraction of users no matter how much collateral damage they cause to everybody else along the way in order to achieve some sort of pyrrhic and ultimately temporary victory.

I would like to see the heads explode in their boardroom when people figure out how to circumvent the injected ads they have planned.
 
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