How to Fix "Ad blockers violate YouTube‘s Terms of Service"

Let‘s kick things off by directly answering the question that I know many of you are wondering: how do you actually fix the "Ad blockers violate YouTube‘s Terms of Service" error message?

The quick summary is that you have two main options:

Connect to a VPN that allows ad blocking on YouTube
Use the uBlock Origin extension with custom filters

I‘ll explain how both methods work in detail below. But first, let‘s talk about why this error appears and the importance of ads to YouTube.

YouTube‘s Reliance on Ads – Some Context

As a fellow streaming and tech enthusiast, I‘m sure you can appreciate why YouTube doesn‘t want people blocking ads. Advertising is the financial backbone of the platform.

YouTube paid out over $30 billion to creators in 2020 alone. The vast majority of that revenue comes directly from selling ads – video ads before and during videos, display ads around the video player, etc.

Without ads, YouTube could not support the over 2 million monetized channels. Even for non-monetized channels, ads pay for bandwidth, video hosting, and all the infrastructure to keep YouTube running.

So in summary, ads allow:

Creators to earn money from making videos
YouTube to cover its large server and operating costs
The platform to remain free for billions of users

This is why YouTube understandably blocks ad blockers – they threaten its economic model. But let‘s get into how we can get around this restriction.

Method #1: Use a VPN to Bypass the Error

The first method for solving the "Ad blockers violate Terms of Service" problem is connecting to a VPN.

A VPN, or virtual private network, hides your real IP address and location. It routes your internet traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a server in another part of the world.

This allows you to spoof your location. Even though you‘re physically located in the US for example, with a Russian VPN server you appear to be in Russia to any website you visit.

Now here‘s the key point:

YouTube‘s ad blocker policy is not enforced equally in all countries. For whatever reason, some regions like Russia, Israel, and India allow ad blocking on YouTube without the annoying error message.

So by using a VPN and connecting to servers in those locations, your ad blocker will continue working smoothly on YouTube.

Let‘s walk through how to do this on a free VPN service step-by-step:

First, make sure you have an ad blocking extension installed in your browser, like uBlock Origin or AdBlock Plus. This is important, as the VPN itself won‘t block ads.
Next, sign up for a free VPN service. Some good options include ProtonVPN, TunnelBear, and Windscribe.
Download the VPN provider‘s app on your computer or mobile device and install it.
Open the app, log into your account, and connect to a server in Russia, Israel, India or another country where YouTube ad blocking works.
Launch YouTube, start watching a video, and check if ads are still blocked without any error messages.
If you see the error, try switching VPN servers until you find a location that works.

The advantage of using a VPN is you can keep your current ad blocker enabled. The downside is it takes more time to set up and you‘ll need to connect to the VPN each visit.

Now let‘s talk about the other method for solving this problem…

Method #2: Use uBlock Origin with Custom Filters

In addition to VPNs, some ad blockers like uBlock Origin can also bypass the YouTube ad blocker error.

uBlock Origin uses different blocking techniques that essentially hide the error message from appearing.

Here are the steps to set it up:

First, uninstall any other ad blocker extensions you currently have installed. Only uBlock should be enabled.
Install uBlock Origin from the Chrome Web Store or Firefox Add-ons marketplace.
Click on the uBlock Origin icon and access the Dashboard. Go to the "My Filters" tab.
Paste the following filter code:

youtube.com##+js(set, yt.config_.openPopupConfig.supportedPopups.adBlockMessageViewModel, false)  
youtube.com##+js(set, Object.prototype.adBlocksFound, 0)
youtube.com##+js(set, ytplayer.config.args.raw_player_response.adPlacements, [])
youtube.com##+js(set, Object.prototype.hasAllowedInstreamAd, true)

Click "Apply Changes" to activate the filters.
Restart your browser and relaunch YouTube. The ad blocker warning should now be gone!

These lines of code basically trick YouTube into thinking ads aren‘t blocked and hide the error popup. The magic is in the custom filtering capabilities of uBlock.

The advantage here is no VPN required. But the filters could stop working if YouTube changes its code in the future.

Additional Tips for Bypassing the Error

To maximize success getting around the YouTube ad blocker restriction, here are some additional useful troubleshooting tips:

Try connecting to different VPN server locations until you find one that allows ad blocking. Restrictions vary globally.
Use both a VPN and uBlock Origin together for best results. The VPN hides your real IP while uBlock disables the warning.
Check that both your VPN and ad blocker extensions are fully updated to the latest versions. Outdated software is more likely to trigger the error.
Don‘t repeatedly create new accounts to avoid the ad block detection, as YouTube may ban accounts for this.
Chrome extensions like GeoGuard and Fake Location can also spoof your location like a VPN.
Try alternate ad blockers as well – some users report AdGuard and StopAd work without the error.
If the issue persists across multiple devices, try clearing cookies and cache to remove anything causing the error.
As a last resort, you can sign up for YouTube Premium to remove all ads without needing an ad blocker. But of course, this does cost money.

Why YouTube Cares So Much About Ad Blockers

To wrap up, let‘s discuss why YouTube cares so deeply about ad blocking and is constantly working to limit it.

As we mentioned earlier, advertising revenue allows the platform to operate and compensate creators. But just how vital are ads to YouTube‘s business model?

In 2021, YouTube generated over $28 billion in ad revenue, representing the majority of income.
Roughly 15% of YouTube viewers use an ad blocker globally, meaning billions in lost revenue.
The number of YouTube channels making six figures in ad revenue has increased 40% year-over-year.
The company pays out 55% of ad revenue to qualifying creators who participate in the Partner Program.

As these stats show, ad revenue is crucial for YouTube‘s profits and creator ecosystem. So it‘s understandable why they take strong measures against ad blocking, even if it frustrates viewers wanting an ad-free experience.

Let‘s Recap the Key Solutions

In summary, here are the two recommended methods for removing the "Ad blockers violate Terms of Service" error on YouTube:

VPN Method – Connect to a VPN server in a country where ad blockers work like Russia or Israel. This hides your real location so your ad blocker still functions.

uBlock Origin Method – Install uBlock and apply custom filters that prevent the error message from appearing. No VPN required.

Hopefully this detailed guide has provided the context, explanations, and steps needed to successfully bypass YouTube‘s ad blocker restrictions. Please let me know in the comments if you have any other tips or questions!