5 YouTube Ad-skipping hacks you need to try before paying for the premium

If you’re a frequent YouTube user, you’ve likely encountered the frustration of watching your favourite content interrupted by ads. While YouTube Premium promises an ad-free experience, its price tag might make you think twice. What if there were ways to bypass ads without spending a penny? After months of subscribing to Premium, I discovered a few clever hacks that would’ve saved me money and time. Here are five tips to help you skip, block, or avoid ads on YouTube - without paying for a subscription.

1. Download Videos for Offline Viewing

One of the simplest ways to avoid ads is to watch videos offline. This is ideal for those clips you love rewatching, as ads can disrupt your experience. YouTube offers a feature for saving videos offline, but it's available only in certain countries for free users. Check if it's available in your region. Alternatively, you can use third-party tools like YT-DLP, a free open-source downloader, to grab videos and watch them ad-free whenever you want.

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2. Block Ads with an Ad Blocker

Unskippable ads can really ruin the flow of a video. The solution? Ad blockers. These browser extensions automatically remove ads from YouTube videos, so you don't have to deal with interruptions. You can find popular ad blockers like UBlock Origin or YouTube Ad-Skipping in Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge extension stores. Once installed, the blocker scans the webpage and prevents ads from loading, offering a smoother viewing experience and added benefits like enhanced privacy and faster load times.

3. Use the Dot Trick to Skip Ads

Here’s a simple yet effective hack I wish I knew sooner. This trick involves adding a period (.) to the URL of the video you want to watch, right after the ".com" part. This small tweak confuses YouTube’s ad system, preventing ads from loading. For example, change:

Original URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyz123

Edited URL: https://www.youtube.com./watch?v=xyz123

After making the change, press Enter, and you’ll be able to watch the video ad-free.

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4. Automate Ad Skipping on Mobile

Skipping ads manually on mobile devices can be tedious, especially when the ads are only a few seconds long. Instead of waiting to tap the Skip Ads button, you can automate the process. When an ad starts, tap the screen and swipe left or right. On some devices, this action instantly skips the shorter ads. You can also tap the Skip Ad button as soon as it becomes available. For a seamless experience, combine this with an ad blocker in your mobile browser.

5. Explore YouTube Alternatives

If you're tired of ads on YouTube, consider using alternative apps like NewPipe, PeerTube, or Vimeo. These apps allow you to watch YouTube content without ads. NewPipe, for instance, offers a user-friendly interface with trending clips, subscriptions, and saved playlists - all without ads. However, since NewPipe violates Google’s policies, you won’t find it in the Google Play Store. Instead, download it from its official site or repositories like GitHub or F-Droid.

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Save money without missing content

These tips help reduce interruptions on YouTube and avoid the need for a paid subscription. While not guaranteed to remove every ad, they provide enough relief to make the viewing experience smoother.