Viewers are furious: YouTube has started to lose the ability to skip adverts, 5 seconds after they start to play

YouTube continues to introduce "improvements" that no one asked for. Yesterday we reported that a new interface of the service was being tested on mobile devices, which was not appreciated by all users.

Now there are complaints about another strange decision of Google in the network.

Here's What We Know

A year ago, it became impossible to watch videos on YouTube with the ad blocker activated, which forced those who don't want to watch adverts to either abandon YouTube or pay for a Premium subscription.

But recently, many users among those who did watch videos with adverts have complained that they've lost the option to skip them 5 seconds after they start playing. Now, instead of the "Skip" button, a black rectangle appears, and you have to watch the ad until the end.

YouTube administration responds that it is not going to intentionally remove the ability to skip adverts, and what is observed now - is happening within the framework of "reducing the number of elements in the advertising player".

All of this is being done so that "users can engage more deeply with adverts through a cleaner experience".

This leaves viewers with the option of either paying for YouTube Premium or "interacting more deeply with ads", and they'll have to interact even if the video is paused.

Source: The Verge