(Updated: 10/10 11:45 AM ET): Included a statement from a YouTube representative about the change with the ad skip button.
What you need to know
- YouTube has reportedly started "hiding" the skip button during the initial ad for a video on mobile devices.
- The ad shows a full length duration bar, but the skip button only appears once that finishes and the ad continues to play.
- YouTube recently started pushing ads for paused videos, a format the company sees as "less disruptive."
A report has surfaced about YouTube's latest attempts at getting users to view ads on its platform on mobile devices.
The report claims the changes could be part of an "extended test" YouTube is dishing out to a limited number of users. According to Android Police, viewing the preceding ad for a video no longer displays a "skip" button. This change doesn't seem all that bad once the evidence is accounted for.
It seems like YouTube is removing the skip button for the portion of the ad that isn't skippable anyway. Typically, skippable ads must run for a specific duration (five seconds) before the user can pass it off. The change on mobile devices shows a full bar for the ad's supposed "duration," which is likely just the portion users must see.
After, the skip button pops up in the bottom right corner (as usual) while the ad continues to play until it's pressed.
While mobile devices are seeing the skip button hidden until it's available, the publication reiterated that those on the web are seeing it blocked out. This is reportedly in place of the typical countdown circle, which didn't sit well with users on Reddit. However, one user reported that the gray boxes that blocked out the skip button were a "bug."
They stated that YouTube likely pushed another update that simply removed the skip button from sight until you can move along.
YouTube has been wrapped in a war against ad blockers for a while now, but this change doesn't feel like that. At the very least, it seems like a change that the company likely deems makes sense, but has yet to say officially.
The company was spotted displaying ads for paused videos on mobile devices and Smart TVs. YouTube's communications manager, Oluwa Falodun confirmed the change, stating it was due to "advertiser and strong viewer response, we’ve since widely rolled out Pause ads to all advertisers." On TVs, pausing a video would see the chosen ad appear on the right side of the display until it was resumed.
More importantly, paused videos showing ads were something illuded to during Alphabet's Q1 2024 earnings report. It seems Google sees the format as "less disruptive," though these aren't the ads we thought we were getting.
Update
YouTube recently told Android Police about the supposedly "hidden" ad skip button. The company's Ads Communication Manager, Oluwa Falodun, said the button will appear "after five seconds" for skippable ads. However, users should note that "the mobile and desktop experience may see the countdown timer now appear as a progress bar on the bottom of the screen."
So, it seems as though YouTube's new ad skip button behavior is here to stay. Oluwa highlighted with the publication that the platform is trying to hone in on being "less destructive," which it's previously been interested in for ads (like the pause screen).
