I follow a bunch of developers and engineering channels on it and I learn a lot of stuff on YouTube in general.
A couple of years ago, after running AdguardHome on my network, I’ve noticed that YouTube ads became more and more aggressive and that was hard to unnotice since I mostly consume YouTube on mobile devices that don’t have adblockers. I just gave up and convinced myself that YouTube, of all the services, is the one that probably deserves my money, so here I am, paying for the student plan which is 6.99€ a month. Now, after almost a year of premium, it’s probably the only plan I could not give up along with Spotify’s. I’m not used to ads anymore, I listen to a lot of stuff in background mode and I love it more than before.
Only thing that got on my nerves is that they now decided that if you don’t activate watch history you’re not going to get a Home feed, which is crazy if you ask me.
>download videos locally on your phone
>the audio continues in the background when you switch to another phone app
Y... you mean like NewPipe already does?
Lately I find I waste a lot of time "relaxing" on YouTube, but I've noticed it's become TV for me; a habit like smoking was. Sure, there's thought-provoking stuff on there, but that's not what seems to show up in my feed. It looks like cable TV. I suppose I have terrible viewing preferences. This is just my experience, of course.
So, I'm ready to kick the YouTube habit and to do more "pulling" of information. Having experienced what cable TV did (eventually throwing a huge amount ads into an expensive subscription) the new fee structure makes kicking the habit an easier, healthier, and more prudent choice. I think I know where they're heading.
I'm thankful for it, frankly. It's wind at my back to pull away from too much screen time. It'll be much easier to break the habit. I've paid enough by providing my viewing preferences anyhow. And when already-profitable monopolistic non-essential services start squeezing tighter, it's surprisingly refreshing to search for new pastures.
If/when Reddit kills "old" reddit, that'll be good too.
There's absolutely nothing stopping the arms race from continuing past the point which you are currently satisified.
Just look at Hulu, for example.
Also, it's ridiculous that YouTube was able to convince people it's acceptable to have audio pause when in the background. If YouTube on Desktop paused audio when the tab was not the active tab it would be fundamentally unusable.
Soon there’ll be a premium premium with no ads at a premium cost, $30 a month.
You're not locked into subscribing to YouTube until you die. This is a misunderstanding I see frequently among hackers. They also seem to think that changing the default web browser is equal in severity to building a battleship...
It's good to have a healthy tension between consumer wants and corporate financials. If everyone stops using ad block today then Google reports one quarter of increased profits. Afterward, investors are normalized to that expectation, the fact everyone is watching ads is meaningless, and Google pursues whatever their next step is for squeezing blood from stone.
I want to live in a world where products are as good for me as possible without corporations going under. I do not want to live in a world where products are as poor as I'll tolerate just for profit maximization.
Really? No ads baked-in into videos by the creators? I.e. those skipped by another add-on, sponsorblock?
> and I support creators.
Are you sure about that? Why do they need to put their own ads into videos then?
By paying Netflix, Amazon Prime, or other streaming service, you surely would: Netflix and Amazon have to pay for the content. But Youtube? They get it for free.
> my conscience is clean,
But your privacy-awareness should be on alert. For YouTube premium, you have to be logged in. You can bet, that Google profiles you based on what you watch. They just don't show you the ads right on the YouTube, but surely they do elsewhere on their network.
Think of it like browser equivalent of the smart tv connected to net.
Sponsorblock, yes.
> Are you sure about that? Why do they need to put their own ads into videos then?
For the people who use ad-blockers. Not me specifically and youtube doesn't provide a functionality to skip certain parts on paid views.
> But your privacy-awareness should be on alert. For YouTube premium, you have to be logged in. You can bet, that Google profiles you based on what you watch. They just don't show you the ads right on the YouTube, but surely they do elsewhere on their network.
I use kagi (paid), and ad-blockers for everything else.
I can live with google having access to my [poor] music taste and view history.
YT cut off my favorite channels' monetization all the time. They'll never get a dime out of me.
They also decided to get rid of Google Play Music, one of the best music streaming platforms ever created, and replace it with Youtube Music - which is absolutely god-awful. I want to play music, not watch music videos, not be limited to what's on Youtube and upload my own music to stream...
Purely for removing background play alone, they don't deserve 15 dollars a month (or whatever they're charging right now)