A user on Reddit has recently encountered an hour-long unskippable ad on YouTube. The issue could be attributed to an ad blocker, which Google is proactively cracking down on. Google issued a statement in response to the post confirming its efforts to combat ad blockers,

In response, Google has intensified its crackdown on such freeloaders, particularly in 2025, by introducing extreme deterrents like unskippable ads lasting several hours.

Google has offered an explanation for why these ads are happening and what users can do about it. Whether the explanation is satisfying?

YouTube ads are getting more frustrating, with some users reporting unskippable ads that are nearly an hour long. Are ad blockers to blame?

Users with ad blockers are reporting seeing hourslong unskippable ads. Google has denied reports that it’s serving unskippable ads that last for minutes or even hours to some YouTube users who have ad blockers enabled,

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Google denies serving extended unskippable ads on YouTube despite survey showing 31% of users encounter ads longer than two minutes.

YouTube ads are now unskippable and can last for several hours, jsut to deter users with adblockers. Google is cracking down on freeloaders by showing excessively long ads to promote premium subscriptions.