I’ve been seeing a lot of posts & comments ranting about how long YouTube ads are [Edit: specifically, ON LEMMY], how tiny the little X is to close popups, etc and I don’t get it. It’s less effort to install blockers than it is to keep complaining about ads.
Browser: uBlock Origin on Firefox, works on both Android and Desktop (Windows/Linux)
Most Android apps: RethinkDNS to block third-party ads
YouTube: NewPipe or ReVanced Manager
Reddit: ReVanced Manager
I do all I can to avoid ads on my devices and networks.
However, I sometimes have to use devices I don’t own. Or work-provided hardware I’m not permitted to install anything on. Or I can get exposed to ads if a friend shows me something on their phone, or if I’m in a classroom/work and someone wants to show a YouTube video as part of their presentation.
And even if I somehow managed to never get exposed to ads, it doesn’t mean ads don’t suck and I’m not allowed to complain about their existence. Additionally, sure uBlock, DNS, alternative front-ends and all other ad-blocking methods are simple enough for computer nerds on Lemmy, but the vast majority of people aren’t computer nerds. If I told my friends to “just get uBlock and a DNS-level filter”, half of them would look at me like an insane person. The vast majority of people who use computers have little to no understanding of how they work and can’t do much more than Facebook, YouTube, and email.
I mean specifically the people that are complaining on Lemmy, where you can’t go more than a dozen posts without running into someone mentioning some sort of ad blocking or privacy tools.