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After users on Reddit suggested YouTube is hiding the ‘skip’ button that comes up during adverts, the video-sharing platform has confirmed it isn’t removing or hiding the skip.
It was in a Reddit thread on ‘r/extremelyinfuriating’ where someone shared a screenshot of an advert on the website writing “YouTube adding blackout squares over adverts to hide the ‘skip’ button.”
One person responded saying they thought their app was “glitching” on their iPad, while another suggested it could be a bug and the app needed to be updated.
Then, two days ago, the publisher Android Police reported the countdown timer that usually appears when the advert is playing – counting down to the skip – ‘seems to be going away.’
Currently, advertorials play at the beginning of a monetized video, as well as in the middle and at the end. These vary in lengths, but some can be bypassed if the option to do is present.
The skippable videos have an option to be passed after five seconds, while those that can’t are 15 or 20 seconds in length. If watching on TV, the ad can be 30 seconds long. There are also short bumper ads which contain a few non-skippable videos of up to six seconds.
In previous years, these adverts could be skipped by people using an ad-blocker but YouTube has cracked down on this over the last few months. In May, people using ad-blockers were unable to watch the videos.
Countdown timer on YouTube ads now to appear as progress bar
In a statement to Android Police, the Google-owned company said the behavior users are seeing is intentional.
“YouTube is not hiding the skip button. On skippable ads, the button appears after 5 seconds into playback, as always.
“To allow users to focus on the video creative and make the player more seamless with YouTube content, we are reducing elements on the ads player. In doing so, viewers can engage more deeply with the ad through a cleaner experience.”
“Viewers on the mobile and desktop experience may see the countdown timer now appear as a progress bar at the bottom of the screen.
“YouTube has been rolling out yearly updates that offer a more modern and immersive viewing experience while also improving how users watch videos. In alignment with these updates, across the platform, the ads experience is also evolving.”
Featured Image: Via Ideogram
