YouTube is one of the most popular video platforms on the web today. Even households that don’t watch TV or use the internet often can likely name at least one person who watches a lot of YouTube. And why wouldn’t they? The platform is packed with hundreds of thousands of entertaining videos from all sorts of creators, including established stars and new up-and-coming talent alike. That said, not everyone loves being exposed to ads whenever they watch a video on YouTube. These ads help support the website by allowing creators to continue creating videos without having to sell their soul first. But if you’re like many people and dislike seeing ads, this might make it even harder for you to watch videos on YouTube than others. Luckily, there are ways other than completely avoiding the website altogether that you can limit your exposure to ads while still watching videos on YouTube whenever you have time (or feel like it). Here’s why…
Why can’t I skip ads on YouTube?
It’s a sad fact, but if you really want to watch a specific video on YouTube, you might have to go without the video itself. No, the video itself won’t disappear — you can still watch it without ads. But if you don’t want to watch ads to fund the video creator, you’re out of luck. This is often the case even if you subscribe to the channel. Even if you’re okay with ads as long as you get to watch the videos, there’s no guarantee that the creator will agree or that they’ll even receive enough money to produce future videos. While some channels are funded by ads and receive enough money to make a full-time living from YouTube, others don’t make much at all. This is especially relevant for creators who are still finding their stride in their careers.
Ads Are Vital For Funding Creators
Remember, creators aren’t paid for the videos that you’re watching — these channels need funding from ads to cover their costs. If YouTube removed ads from the platform, then these channels would likely disappear. So, it’s important to keep these creators’ income in mind. And to those who might ask, “why not just pay for the channel without all the ads then?” the answer is simple: the website charges money for ads. All these channels have to do is ask for money from viewers and/or sponsors. They don’t have to rely solely on YouTube ads, which are unpredictable and often unreliable in terms of revenue.
Videos Aren’t Paid Subscriptions Either
This might come as a surprise, but your favorite channels probably don’t offer one-time, one-dollar subscriptions. This isn’t a new revelation — some channels have been teasing this feature for years. But it’s still not something that everyone knows about, meaning that many channels are still getting paid for their videos. So, what does this mean for you? It means that you can’t just skip the ads and subscribe to channels that you enjoy. You’ll need to go through the process of not only unsubscribing, but also unsubscribing again. Yes, you’ll then need to re-subscribe to the video again. You’ll do this so that the channel is able to receive money from ads.
Ad-Free Users Are Rare
Many people may assume that they can watch YouTube without ads if they don’t mind subscribing to channels that don’t offer ad-free videos. But this isn’t the case. While the platform does allow for custom subscriptions, very few users create these subscriptions to begin with. For example, only about 1% of people have subscribed to channels that only allow for custom subscriptions. And even if you do have a channel with these types of subscriptions, you can’t watch the videos without ads. Subscribers can’t make any guarantees about the channel’s future, meaning you’ll need to go through the same process as with ad-free channels.
If You Don’t Mind Paying, There Are Premium Channels
Finally, you can also try to watch videos without ads by paying to access premium channels. Basically, you subscribe to these channels if you’re okay with paying a monthly fee to watch videos without ads. This may sound like it’s only for people who absolutely hate ads, but it’s actually a popular choice for many YouTube fans. Why? The monthly fee usually only costs between $2 and $10 per month, depending on the channel. And this fee is generally designed to help offset the costs of the ads that you’re still required to watch. You might be asking, “Is this better than just watching without ads?” The answer here is certainly more nuanced than “yes or no.” If you don’t mind subsidizing the videos you want to watch, then it’s a viable option.
Bottom Line: You can watch videos on YouTube without ads. But you have to be okay with paying for it.
Now that you know why you can’t watch YouTube without ads, it’s time to understand how you can limit your exposure to these ads. This way, you can still watch your favorite videos without having to put up with annoying ads.