YouTube is now embedding ads directly into videos to make them harder to block, The Bleeping Computer reports.
The information came from SponsorBlock, a third-party browser extension that collects data on which video segments contain sponsored content and skips them.
It is reported that embedding ads on the server will disrupt the functionality of the extension, although new solutions for bypassing ads are already emerging.
For now, YouTube embeds ads on the client side – JavaScript scripts and a video player on the user’s device load and display ads.
The video stream and ads are separated, and the player is programmed to pause content and play ads at certain moments.
Most ad blockers usually disable ads on YouTube by blocking JavaScript scripts. SponsorBlock works a little differently: it collects information about different segments of a video and allows users to skip those segments that are sponsored.
Server-side ad integration adds ads directly to the video stream before the content is delivered to the viewer, so users get a continuous stream with ads already embedded.
The Manifest file determines the order in which these segments are played, and when a user clicks on a video, the YouTube server sends a playlist that includes both the video and the ad segments.
Potential solutions to circumvent the innovation include the development of more sophisticated detection algorithms, metadata analysis, and the use of advanced pattern recognition to detect sudden changes in audio/video that may indicate ad playback.
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