Advice Request Opera browser and Opera GX are not blocking ads on YouTube

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Gandalf_The_Grey

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Many Opera browser and Opera GX users have reported that the program is not blocking ads on YouTube.
Just to be clear, we are talking about the browser's built-in ad blocking option and not add-ons.
The complaints state that the browser allows the ads on the video streaming service, even when the adblocker's default lists are enabled. A little searching reveals that this has been a recurring issue in the browser, and for quite some time too. I have been using both browsers for a week, because I wanted to confirm whether the issue exists, it is real and slightly complicated. The browser blocked ads on all other sites that I visited, but when it came to YouTube videos, it allowed the ads to play.
The consensus among Opera GX users seems to be that something has changed on YouTube's end, which prevents the browser from blocking the ads. Well if that was true, then no ad-blocker should work, right? I use Firefox and Edge regularly every day, and also have Vivaldi and Brave on my computer, just to keep an eye on new features and changes. None of these browsers have an issue blocking ads on YouTube. One tech-savvy user on reddit mentioned that Opera's ad blocker is generic and that it does not work with YouTube's script, specifically the Polymer framework.
That brings us to one of two workarounds for the issue. The easier way to fix the YouTube ad blocking problem on Opera is to just use an extension like uBlock Origin. This may seem like a no-brainer to experienced users, but there are a lot of people who don't know about the popular ad-blocking add-on. You can find the extension on the Opera Addons store and the Chrome Webstore. Install it, and it will take care of the problem for you.

The other way, is to add custom filter lists, which can be useful for people who don't want to install extensions, but want to block more ads. The uBlockOrigins uAssets Git Repo has a bunch of filters that you can add. Just copy the URL of each list, and paste it in the custom lists section of Opera's settings.
 

upnorth

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Nowadays I can't speak for Opera GX, but I for sure can mention my own experience with Opera stable. The article is sadly partially true, and pretty annoying when it occurs, but also nothing actually brand new. But that Edge and it's built-in adblocking is flawless when it comes to Youtube and it's pesky ads, is a truth with huge modification capabilities. Specially Edge ( out of the box, without any extra extensions etc ) is even worse then Opera and also one reason why I avoid using Edge when it comes to Youtube. Btw, Opera does 100% for sure Not block all ads on other sites. Extra not on All sites, as that's what a reader can believe from the authors word and no it doesn't help add, quote " all other sites that I visited ". That's another thing that's very " off " in this article as the author for sure could test a bit more sites, as it's not rocket science finding 2 sites Opera can't handle. :rolleyes:
 

Stopspying

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For any Opera users who are getting annoyed by YT ads while this situation continues, you can watch YT videos on one of the instances at

invidio.us

These are ad-free.

I'm not an Opera user. With FF you can get extensions that convert YT links to ones that can be used with an invidio.us instance, I'm not sure if you can do this with Opera, so that may be a hassle, as its not always simple to find the video listed that was linked to a YT URL
 

silversurfer

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Opera 76 fixes the YouTube ad blocking issue​

Opera has released a new version of its browser to the stable channel. The update announcement on the company's blog finally acknowledges the ad blocking issue was real. As a matter of fact, it was the only thing highlighted in the article. Opera 76 has fixed the YouTube ad blocking issue.
 

Gandalf_The_Grey

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Opera 76 fixes the YouTube ad blocking issue:
A couple of weeks ago, I told you that Opera browser isn't blocking YouTube ads. This issue has been quite the headache for users, but the latest update seems to have fixed the problem.

Opera has released a new version of its browser to the stable channel. The update announcement on the company's blog finally acknowledges the ad blocking issue was real. As a matter of fact, it was the only thing highlighted in the article. Opera 76 has fixed the YouTube ad blocking issue.

Interestingly, the post also confirms that the ad blocker was not properly blocking all ads. That kind of explains why I got ads only on some videos, it was random. The release notes for Opera 76.0.4017.177 makes things even more interesting, it reads,

DNA-93554 [AdBlock] Find a fix for blocking ‘new’ YouTube ads

Notice how the 'new' part is in quotes. Some Brave users had reported the ad blocking issue as well. That indicates there's something odd going on behind the scenes. It's good to see that the problem has been addressed by Opera.
Opera 76 also fixes an issue with the picture-in-picture video playback, you can now control the sound properly in the pop-out.

Did you notice that Opera's blog announcement does not talk about Opera GX? If you read my previous article, you may remember that GX had the ad blocking issue as well. After a bit of searching, I found the change log for Opera GX on the community forums. The post mentions that the same fix for the ad blocker was added in version v75 of the browser. That's Opera GX 75.0.3969.282 to be precise. So, I gave it the same treatment as the regular variant of the browser, and GX seems to be blocking ads just as it should be.

If you're using an older version of the browser, I recommend updating to Opera 76. The installer is available at the official site.
 

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