YT Premium only makes the problem worse by requiring you to log in using an account that is tied to your real world identity and was used for payment processing. You just end up giving more data points to Google to track you, cross-reference with other sources and shove more ads in other platforms, still get native ads, and Google can just add their own ads later (as it is happening step by step with streaming companies).

The flip side s that you don't have to use Chrome+Google for everything. I buy ebooks and watch youtube on it, plus my phone (so I buy android apps via the same google account). And Gmail is my fallback email account so that doesn't see much traffic.

I use 3-4 browsers and because WFH + VM's for coding some incidental sandboxing.

I don't run an adblocker on my phone, YouTube Music is included and the creators still get paid.

The main reason they get paid is that their income is primarily from sponsorships and affiliate links now. Youtube premium doesn't block that, and it's a much more insidious kind of ad.

It makes you think you're watching somebody being authentic, when really it's a business disguising itself as an authentic person that's trying to sell you things (whether out of bias or strategy)

I usually stick with known quantities and avoid any scummy looking channel.

I have no problem watching the in video Gamer Nexus ads and don't expect paying for YouTube premium to skip those ads.

Creators get paid MORE per stream by a premium user than an ad free user.

You can watch on all of your devices, even the ones where setting up an ad-blocker is non trivial or impossible.

It is pretty trivial on every device I have used. Which ones are a challenge?

How about a smart TV, a streaming stick/box (e.g. Roku, Amazon Fire Stick), or a games console?

Pi-hole will work for some types of ad on all devices, but I'm not sure how it'd work for video ads in an app like YouTube - particularly if Google started serving the ads from the same servers as the content.

Actually better, because I share it with my family and no one has to deal with installing / configuring adblockers on different platforms (mobile app, TV, laptops whatever) It also includes Music so together I think it is a pretty good deal. Prices in some countries are ridiculously cheap as well (<$2 monthly in India, Turkey) , but of course that could change in time.

My only problem is the sponsored content in youtube videos, I would give some extra money to skip that crap as well.

In theory, but you actually help the creators you enjoy watching.

I subscribe to their Patreons, thank you very much.

Well, my hubby’s iPad and our iPhones don’t support ad blocking on YouTube, nor does my Smart TV, so…ad blocking only works on 1/5 of my husband’s devices and my own would actually be effective with ad blocking, for one…

(And before you say ‘just switch to Android’, I’m an iOS/WatchOS dev and a music producer for a living - if anything with the recent announcement of Logic on the iPad, I’ll be buying another iPads not reducing them…)

Vinegar for iOS has made YouTube much less obnoxious https://apps.apple.com/ca/app/vinegar-tube-cleaner/id1591303...

Install Brave for ad blocking YouTube on iOS.