(Image credit: CardMapr.nl from Unsplash)
If you don't have a Premium YouTube subscription, you already know that the ads on the platform seem to be getting longer and far more frequent. Even worse in my opinion, is that the ads seem less skippable these days. But as someone who isn't ready to have yet another streaming subscription, I've just discovered there's a new option.Privacy-focused browser maker DuckDuckGo has introduced built-in YouTube ad blocking for its browser, allowing users to watch most YouTube videos without seeing ads. Unlike traditional browser extensions, the feature is integrated directly into the browser itself, giving users another way to avoid ads as support for some older ad blockers continues to disappear.A different approach to blocking YouTube ads
(Image credit: DuckDuckGo)Most people who block YouTube ads rely on browser extensions. But over the past year, those tools have become less reliable as Google has continued changing how ads are delivered and Chrome has phased out older extension technology.DuckDuckGo, already a fan favorite for those who don't want AI Overviews, is taking a different approach to ads by building ad blocking directly into its browser. According to the company, the feature uses community-maintained filter lists based on the same project that powers many popular ad blockers, along with additional compatibility improvements developed by DuckDuckGo.The company says the feature should block ads on most YouTube videos, although it warns users may occasionally encounter buffering, playback glitches or videos where ads still appear while the filtering rules catch up with changes made by YouTube.
