DuckDuckGo Browser Now Blocks YouTube Ads on iPhone and Mac

[MacRumors]

DuckDuckGo's free web browser now blocks most video ads on YouTube, and the feature is on by default for iPhone and Mac users running the latest version of the app.

Announced on Wednesday, YouTube Ad Blocking stops ads that play before and during videos on YouTube's website, and DuckDuckGo says the result is the regular YouTube experience minus the interruptions, so features like viewing history and saving your spot in playlists keep working.

One thing to watch on iPhone is if you tap a YouTube link, it often opens the dedicated YouTube app if you have it installed. The blocking feature obviously won't work there, and you'll need to open the YouTube website inside the DuckDuckGo browser instead.

DuckDuckGo says it is using a community-maintained filter lists from uBlock Origin, along with its own rules to help minimize breakage. The company warns that videos may buffer a little longer than usual, but playback should run uninterrupted once a clip loads.

Note that YouTube Ad Blocking is separate from Duck Player, the browser's distraction-free video viewing mode, but the two can be enabled together.

The move follows Google's ongoing efforts to break ad blockers every which way it can, including recent changes to Chrome that targeted uBlock Origin. It's worth mentioning that DuckDuckGo isn't the first browser to block YouTube ads, with similar features already available in Brave and Opera.

DuckDuckGo's browser offers more than a dozen privacy protections, including ad tracker blocking and cookie pop-up removal. It's available for iOS devices on the App Store and for Mac on the Mac App Store and DuckDuckGo website.

Article Link: DuckDuckGo Browser Now Blocks YouTube Ads on iPhone and Mac

 

[surfzen21]

Well looks like I will be downloading DDG now.

 

[Apple Weeb]

I have a very low opinion of Google, otherwise I would gladly pay for YouTube Premium. I will continue to browse for free through Brave.

 

[Mikegwald]

I have a very low opinion of Google, otherwise I would gladly pay for YouTube Premium. I will continue to browse for free through Brave.

I trust Google more than Brave.

Brave is nothing more than a Crypto / Ai / VPN Subscription Bloat browser these days.

 

[sofargone]

I dont get MacRumors at times. Why post this here and make it hot instead of keeping it low-key? SMH, everyone does not need to know this.

 

[Nyx1]

Amazing well done DDG never pay for Google YouTube

 

[Apple Weeb]

I trust Google more than Brave.

Brave is nothing more than a Crypto / Ai / VPN Subscription Bloat browser these days.

You can get Brave Origin which has none of those add-ons.

 

[contacos]

I give it a week since it's making front page news everywhere

 

[zoozx]

WTG
Sick of Advertising and Subscription BS

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

Since YouTube offers an ad-free subscription, how is bypassing ads not the same as piracy? I'm guessing many here are against torrenting movies for free instead of paying, but are OK with watching YT videos without ads, without paying?

 

[aries81]

I give it a week since it's making front page news everywhere

doubt it. Brave blocks YT ads too and it never made the news.

 

[DEMinSoCAL]

WTG
Sick of Advertising and Subscription BS

So you just think everything should be free? Ad free and cost free?

 

[johannnn]

I’m confused, DuckDuckGo browser has always blocked ads for me? What exactly is new? Like this is how I’ve managed to not pay for YouTube Premium for years

 

[Astuces iOS]

Y’all underrate DuckDuckGo, you can make free images with gpt 2 with it !

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

I dont get MacRumors at times. Why post this here and make it hot instead of keeping it low-key? SMH, everyone does not need to know this.

DDG will gladly showcase this just like Brave does. Adblockers aren’t a secret.

 

[Graphate]

I dont get MacRumors at times. Why post this here and make it hot instead of keeping it low-key? SMH, everyone does not need to know this.

I have the same feeling about that fruit company announcing non-fruit derived products.

 

[txmike418]

Been using the DuckDuckGo Player for a long time and it’s great for blocking ads, just hate that this new feature is big enough news that someone will want to block it in the future. There are already a few videos that will not launch unless on YouTube app.

 

[963852741]

Just download Helium which is stripped of all evil and has ublock origin preinstalled.

 

[nebojsak]

Firefox Focus

 

[zoozx]

Wow super impressed with DDG setup and transfer. no YouTube ads, F Fantastic.
the way life should be, NO ADVERTISING !

 

[MysteriousStain]

Since YouTube offers an ad-free subscription, how is bypassing ads not the same as piracy?

It feels like we already pay for it by having our lives tracked by that company. So yeah, no qualms.

 

[RootBeerMan]

It works really well. I've been using DDG for Youtube for awhile and it's better than the others. Firefox has become practically unusable on YT, if you try to kill ads. Thank you, DDG!

 

[dg1974]

why the desktop version doesn't support ANY extension?
it's basically useless this way.

 

[sparkso]

I will stick to subscription plan cos I like Youtube music as well.

 

[963852741]

So you just think everything should be free? Ad free and cost free?

No, he thinks if that's of value then put it behind a paywall and lets find out together.