YouTube is currently experimenting with server-side ad injection, ad blocking tool SponsorBlock has discovered. This breaks SponsorBlock since now all timestamps are offset by the ad times.
"For now, I set up the server to detect when someone is submitting from a browser with this happening and rejecting the submission to prevent the database from getting filled with incorrect submissions," SponsorBlock wrote.
Server side ad injection sees adverts inserted directly into the stream so they can't be picked up by ad blocking tools. Ad blocking app AdGuard told TechCrunch that while the server-side approach is new to YouTube on the web, the service has already been doing something similar in its mobile apps.
YouTube is cracking down on ad blockers because they violate its Terms of Service. Google targeted browser extensions, then third party apps. It's using server-side ad injection to combat ad blockers effectively.
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