You know what’s worse than a stubborn ad on YouTube? When Google tells you, “No ad blockers allowed!” But fear not, the saga continues, as Google keeps testing out different designs and restrictions. If you’re savvy, you might still sneak past YouTube’s anti-blocker prompts, but who knows how long that’ll last?
Even the bigwigs like uBlock Origin have their hiccups sometimes. Sure, they fix things up quickly, but it’s still a bummer when it happens.
So, what’s a fed-up YouTube watcher to do? Well, there’s this wacky alternative that’s like outsmarting the ad overlords, but in a good way. It’s called “Fadblock” – the Friendly Adblock for YouTube. It’s a nifty little extension for your trusty Firefox or Chrome browsers.
Now, instead of going all vigilante and blocking ads like a grumpy bouncer at the internet nightclub, Fadblock takes a different approach. It’s like saying, “Sure, ads, come on in!” But then, it plays a little trick by skipping or fast-forwarding them automatically.
The developer swears that video ads do load up, but they’re either skipped or whooshed through in a flash. These ads are like those race cars – zoom, and they’re gone! You barely even notice them.
And guess what? We’ve tried this in both Firefox and Chrome, and it checks out. You might catch a glimpse of an ad when you load a video on YouTube, but before you know it, it’s “See ya!” and the actual video starts.
Plus, here’s the kicker: this Chrome version of the extension isn’t just a one-browser wonder. It also works in other Chromium-based browsers like Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, Brave, Opera, and any other browsers that decided to jump on the Chromium train.
But here’s the cool twist – Fadblock isn’t even a full-blown ad-blocker. It’s more like the mischievous cousin who’s just here for the fun. It doesn’t block ads, it just swerves around them like a pro.
And the party doesn’t stop at YouTube alone. According to the extension description, it’s also your wingman when it comes to third-party sites that embed YouTube videos. Fadblock is the life of the party, skipping those pre-roll video ads, banner ads, and other fancy display ad formats on YouTube.
Still not convinced? The developer even listed all the different YouTube ad categories that Fadblock says ‘bye-bye’ to:
- Those pesky 10-second video ads that hold you hostage.
- The 5-second video ads that you can mercifully skip after 5 seconds.
- The never-ending parade of multiple ads that show up before your video even starts.
Firefox users can get their hands on this extension from Mozilla’s Add-on repository, while the Chrome crowd can grab it from the Chrome Web Store.
In the end, Fadblock is the wildcard in the YouTube ad-blocking game. It’s like that sneaky card up your sleeve that could get you thrown out of the poker game but, for now, it’s playing like a champ. So, give it a whirl and let’s see how long the good times roll!
