When users click the three dots on the side of the ad in an attempt to dismiss it, nothing happens, no matter how many times they click. Some are unable to access a "Dismiss" command at all. Still other users report the ads going away by themselves in around 30 seconds or a minute. But sometimes, the ads persist.
YouTube Premium subscribers who were promised an ad-free experience for $13.99 a month were met with jarring mid-playlist advertisements this week, in what appears to be an apparent Google snafu. The glitch was first flagged by premium users who were listening to YouTube Music on their Google Home and Nest devices, Android Authority reported. On the Google Home subreddit on Feb. 20, users reported ads appearing consistently even after resetting their devices, suggesting the issue was at the account level.
Most of that revenue comes from advertising, but an increasing amount of money flows in from YouTube's $14-per-month subscription plan, YouTube Premium. YouTube Premium's primary perk is the lack of ads. You also get YouTube Music Premium, Picture-in-Picture mode, playback with the screen off, and more. And yet, the concept of paying for YouTube may seem baffling to many, not only due to Premium's considerable cost and questionable value, but also because anyone can still, technically, enjoy YouTube without paying a dime.
While some were quick to jump to the conclusion that YouTube itself was down, it appears that users on Reddit might have found another culprit ( via Windows Central). Instead of being an issue with the YouTube website or Google's servers, it looks like the problem might have been tied to ad blockers in the Opera GX browser, as multiple people mentioned the issue persisting in Opera GX but not other browsers.