App Tracking: Apps plead for users to press allow, but 85% of Apple iOS consumers are not opting in Mobile app analytics company Flurry is measuring how many users of iOS 14.5 are opting in to allow apps to request to track them - and so far only 15 per cent worldwide have done so. iOS 14.5 was released on April 26 and is gradually rolling out to users with compatible iOS devices. One of its new features is enforcement of …
But I wish something could be done about the ads on YouTube - 8 minute videos with three or four ad slots. Really?
I did look at a family subscription, but that's £18 a month, which is more than Netflix or the like (which has professionally-produced content)!
I used to tolerate the occasional ad, but I just ignore them totally these days as the ad to content ratio is far too high.
Any suggestions how to be ad free with YouTube on an Amazon Firestick? Using Firefox on the firestick used to stop some of the ads, but Google/YouTube seem to have got round that somehow, and Firefox for Amazon Firestick/Fire TV is no longer supported since April 30th.
I find myself doing another easy task while companies piss their money down the advertising sewer, I come back when I can click skip add>> I know it can be attention jarring to switch gears, but welcome to IT, where if you're not changing gears once a minute, you're doing it wrong!
My nine-year-old nephew showed me a way of getting rid of most YT ads on Android: When the video starts, swipe to the end of it. Then rewind to the start, and it plays without ads.
Doesn't get rid of the ads at the start (or some of the ones at the end) but every little helps.
I recently ended up watching Youtube on a browser without my general holy trinity of uBlock/Disconnect/Tampermonkey. It was appalling: more ads than a US sitcom. I didn't even *know* they injected them. Said trinity does such a good job that you simply watch on a clean ad-free stream, without pauses or anything.
On Android, NewPipe (add NewPipe's repository to FDroid to get the updates quicker) or YouTube Vanced (people say good things but I've never tried it).
On the desktop, not sure which add-on is doing this but between uBlock Origin and Enhancer for YouTube I don't see any ads.
No matter how good the advert is, I rarely, rarely! I say! buy anything offered up by google or any other mechanism. I buy when I'm in need, then I shop around. In the long run, somebody will actually save money! And not even know it... Sad isn't it?
Snake oil for all my friends at the bar!
Settings > Privacy > Allow Apps to Request to Track > OFF
Every app gets an automatic "no" to tracking; no prompts needed.
Of course, all system and app-specific analytics settings are always turned off.
Also have Lockdown Privacy installed to block analytics that are not switchable. It's seriously scary how many apps phone home to Facebook and Google. Lockdown has an optional paid VPN feature, but the Tracker firewall part is free. "Blocking works "on-device" meaning it does all of its blocking without sending all your data to a third party server, unlike other blocking apps.")
Network-level blocking on the home network, of course, but I'm not always on my home network; hence Lockdown.
I allow the apps to ask me because I'm curious as to which ones actually want to do so.
It has been rather enlightening, and I get a kick out of clicking "No" every time...
As for YT adverts, I have developed such a hatred of Gramarly that I will go out of my way to avoid giving any money to those intrusive cockwombles.
Some of the sponsorship deals are hilarious. Makes you wonder if they even bothered to watch any of the content of the person they are sponsoring, instead of just looking at how many followers they have.
Lindybeige (a man that looks like he doesn't even own a comb) being sponsored by a male grooming company springs to mind.
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