The issue was raised by Android Authority. For example, last week, a Reddit user posted a screenshot of an ad lasting for 57 minutes and 57 seconds.
In comments to this post, other users claim that they had also encountered long unskippable ads on YouTube, including a 10-hour and a 90-hour commercials.
The above claims weren’t supported by evidence, but another user reported an ad running for 2 hours and 52 minutes (in a 49-minute video) and posted its screenshot.
Android Authority notes that none of these users specify whether they use ad blockers or not, but the second screenshot shows a ‘skipping ads’ button on the bottom left, which indicates the presence of an ad blocker.
“It’s possible that if you are using an ad blocker, YouTube is able to detect it and present you with an absurdly long, unskippable ad. There’s also a possibility that the ad blocker itself is glitching out the ad and its duration. Some comments have mentioned that the ad blocker could have blocked the ‘Skip’ button from showing up and subsequently failed to block the long ad, worsening the ad situation,” – Android Authority suggests.
Interestingly, according to Google, normal unskippable ads in videos must never exceed 15 seconds. However, last year people complained about ads lasting for 1 minute and 28 seconds.
When asked by Android Authority, Google representatives provided a rather vague answer, but confirmed that they continue to fight ad blockers on YouTube. And it can be concluded that long unskippable ads are one of the tools in Google’s arsenal.
“Ads are a vital lifeline for our creators that helps them run and grow their businesses. That’s why the use of ad blockers violate YouTube’s Terms of Service. We’ve launched a global effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad free experience.”
The company noted that it will continue its efforts to detect users who block ads, and Google reserves the right to disable their access to video playback. Supposedly, this is an extreme measure against the most adamant ‘ad dodgers’, but the company is ready to take it.
It must be kept in mind that Google has been fighting against ad blocking on YouTube for a long time. For instance, last year, its engineers experimented with embedding ads directly into the video stream; while users noted that YouTube videos can automatically skip to the end or the sound can be turned off if an ad blocker is enabled.
2025.02.25 — More than 100,000 users downloaded SpyLend malware from Google Play Store
According to Cyfirma, a malicious Android app called SpyLend was available on the official Google Play Store for some time and has been downloaded from there…
Full article →
2025.04.07 — Critical RCE vulnerability discovered in Apache Parquet
All versions of Apache Parquet up to and including 1.15.0 are affected by a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability whose CVSS score is 10 out…
Full article →
2025.03.12 — Mass exploitation of PHP-CGI vulnerability in attacks targeting Japanese companies
GreyNoise and Cisco Talos experts warn that hackers are actively exploiting CVE-2024-4577, a critical PHP-CGI vulnerability that was discovered and fixed in early June 2024. CVE-2024-457…
Full article →
2025.01.30 — Hackers use vulnerabilities in SimpleHelp RMM to attack corporate networks
Experts believe that recently patched vulnerabilities in SimpleHelp Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) were used by attackers to gain initial access to corporate networks. A number…
Full article →
2025.02.23 — New JavaScript obfuscation technique uses invisible Unicode characters
According to Juniper Threat Labs , a new JavaScript obfuscation technique that uses invisible Unicode characters was used in a phishing attack targeting Political Action…
Full article →
2025.04.01 — Hackers abuse MU plugins to inject malicious payloads to WordPress
According to Sucuri, hackers store malicious code in the MU-plugins (Must-Use Plugins) directory in WordPress and execute it while remaining undetected. The technique was first discovered…
Full article →
2025.02.08 — Hackers exploit RCE vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook
The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warned Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) Agencies that they have to secure their systems from ongoing…
Full article →
2025.03.10 — Nearly a million Windows computers impacted by a malvertising campaign
According to Microsoft, nearly 1 million Windows devices fell victim to a sophisticated malvertising campaign in recent months. Cybercriminals were able to steal credentials, cryptocurrency, and sensitive…
Full article →
2025.03.05 — Polish Space Agency disconnects its network due to hacker attack
Last weekend, the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) had to disconnect all of its systems from the Internet to localize an attack targeting its IT infrastructure. After discovering the intrusion,…
Full article →
2025.01.22 — Fake Homebrew Infects macOS and Linux Machines with infostealer
Attackers use Google ads to disguise themselves as the Homebrew website and distribute malware targeting Mac and Linux systems and stealing logon credentials, browser data, and cryptocurrency wallets.…
Full article →