Websites charging to remove personalised ads

Potential-Monke · 10-09-2024 03:11PM #1

So the bro just sent me this... wtaf?! Is this not illegal? And if so, where does one report it? The just no option hidden in the middle, they know well what they're doing knowing certain age groups may not notice it. I don't read the paper at all myself, but this doesn't seem right.

Screenshot_20240910_150112_Chrome.jpg

Enduro · 10-09-2024 06:17PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058368416/websites-charging-to-remove-personalised-ads

Is this not illegal?

No.

You have 3 choices, and are free to choose any of them:

(1) Allow the site to generate the cash it needs by serving personalised ads to you

(2) Pay the site directly to browse the site without it collecting peronal information and using that information to served personalised ads, and instead be served generic non-personalised ads

(3) Don't progress to visit the site.

Your choice.

Nigzcurran · 10-09-2024 06:28PM

Who cares if ads are personalised? Some people are super paranoid and must go round the bend every time they open the internet. It's just a machine trying to sell you stuff it thinks you might be interested in

TheValeyard · 10-09-2024 06:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122602076#Comment_122602076

(4) Use a browser with extensions that allow decent adblocking software.

prunudo · 10-09-2024 06:42PM

As a mate often says, when it comes to the internet, if the service is free you are the product.

Potential-Monke · 10-09-2024 06:47PM

Not use the site it is then! Even with Brave, I wouldn't be bothered to use it anyway if that's the way they be (over £300million profit it made in 2023, just The Sun).

Just assumed it should be illegal, seems crappy but thems the times we live in I suppose.

Victor · 10-09-2024 06:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122602114#Comment_122602114

Not quite. More "It's just a machine trying to sell you".

highpitcheric · 11-09-2024 01:19AM

install duckduckgo browser

Use it for more nosey sites, clear all data, use chrome for your regular less nosey sites.

Woodcutting · 11-09-2024 01:25AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122602076#Comment_122602076

When I see sites like that, or those that demand I disable adblock , I just surf away and let them keep their ads, and their products.

Capt'n Midnight · 11-09-2024 01:43AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122602076#Comment_122602076

(4) accept cookies in a private window

BTW : https://www.thesun.ie/irish-sun-editorial-standards-policies-ethics/ - I LOL'd

lmao10 · 11-09-2024 03:20AM

archive.ph is your friend

plodder · 11-09-2024 07:43AM

Another thing to bear in mind is that the site you are browsing (The Sun in this case) is not getting any personalised information about you, because the ad is not coming from them. It is delivered by an advertising company which already has the information. If you don't interact with the ads, then really the only annoyance is whatever amount of space they take up on the screen, which can be annoying sometimes in fairness.

Potential-Monke · 11-09-2024 09:13AM

Aye, but The Sun is making money off those ads, ergo they to blame. And yes, iirc I don't use these sites because there's more ad space than article space, auto videos, ads that follow you as you scroll, ads within ads... if one struggles to even read the content then not a hope I'll be using the site.

silverharp · 11-09-2024 10:30AM

Youtube is rising up my list of unusable sites, the problem is I like it as a TV app but they are inserting an inordinate amount of 50 second adverts in the middle so you cant really play with clicking in and out,

Potential-Monke · 11-09-2024 10:36AM

YouTube without an ad blocker makes it unusable. Have it on the PS5 but I refuse to watch ads so I immediately back out and click on the video again. Used to have to do it about 10-15 times to get the video to play, nowadays I'm clicking out of 20+ ads before it'll play. Worse then, even if you watch the ads first, they'll still interrupt your 4 minute video with 2 more ads, and often times with ads that are in total longer than your video. +100 arseholedness when they do it to a music video… and YT is trying to turn me into an alcoholic gambler...

I've watched so many parts of videos lately because I just usually give up when an ad hits. Back out and just not watch it. Creators are losing out but Google don't care. And Google is an ad engine these days, the searching is just broken now. I'll stop now... I'll end up turning it into a rant!

hold my beer · 11-09-2024 11:30AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122602114#Comment_122602114

I hate all ads, personalised or not. Constantly trying to sell us shite we don't need. I block everything, and never accept any cookies.

Princess Consuela Bananahammock · 11-09-2024 11:36AM

Can't remember the last time I say an ad on youtube to be honest. Why people use it without adblockers, I will never know.

Wanderer78 · 11-09-2024 11:54AM

ublock on chrome still working here, but looks like i ll have to move onto something else soon enough, maybe ublock on firefox…..

ancapailldorcha · 11-09-2024 12:15PM

Had a scary period some time ago when YouTube started clamping down on Adblocker but fortunately got it going again. I need only try it on a TV to find out how bad a service it is. I appreciate that they need to turn a profit but adding more ads just drives more people to adblockers.

What I'd do is to emphasise the optional premium and what it can do for content creators while also trying to add as many classic films and TV shows to YouTube as possible for free consumption.

11-09-2024 12:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058368416/websites-charging-to-remove-personalised-ads

hilarious stuff. Too embarrassed to acknowledge reading the sun so makes up a story blaming “the bro”

Wanderer78 · 11-09-2024 12:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604843#Comment_122604843

…but the reality is, if a significant number of people blocked ads, companies such as google would still be fine, its rare that such as company goes bust, we all know companies must make profits, but there really is a difference between profits and PROFITS….

ancapailldorcha · 11-09-2024 12:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604869#Comment_122604869

I'm not going to weep for a tax-dodging multinational losing a few pennies. Google isn't our friend, it's a conglomerate dedicated to shareholder enrichment and nothing else.

astrofool · 11-09-2024 12:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604843#Comment_122604843

Would there be 12 minutes of Youtube ads per hour of content (like happened with TV), the fact they can be more personalised will make them more valuable (and reduce the ad time per profit taken), but that's essentially the economics of providing such a service.

Oscar_Madison · 11-09-2024 12:38PM

Never understood internet adds- for me it’s a way to scam and scare certain businesses into thinking they won’t succeed without such paid ads - considering I’ve never deliberately clicked on an ad and obviously many people who have any cop on use ad blockers , someone’s making a sh1t load of money selling this myth that internet ads somehow work - like WTF takes notice of these ads anyway? They’d want to be some numb nut.

ancapailldorcha · 11-09-2024 12:39PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604902#Comment_122604902

Whatever it is, it's a lot. I only watch YouTube on the telly when I'm at my folks' place or abroad and it's usually 35-40 strategy game videos. There's a couple of ads every 7-8 minutes, I'd say?

Marcos · 11-09-2024 12:44PM

To read most paywalled articles you can go to paywallreader.com. Or, if you have FireFox installed you can click reader mode just to the right of the url and it will show you the text without any ads or video etc.

Wanderer78 · 11-09-2024 12:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604923#Comment_122604923

hadnt used youtube on chromecast for a while, tried it during the summer, was unwatchable, so id say i ll have to move back to smarttube unless i find another way around it….

11-09-2024 12:59PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604676#Comment_122604676

Not every device let's you install an adblocker unfortunately

Potential-Monke · 11-09-2024 02:20PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122604902#Comment_122604902

I was contemplating that one night. I would say roughly the same amount of ads as Americans are used to. But, the first ad is usually within the first 2 minutes and I've seen one of those ads be over 2 minutes long. And tv content is completely different to YT content. YT is making money off the ads, and they don't even create the content itself.That's why I've a massive issue with it. We won't mention every video nearly have a sponsorship section, so wtf are the ads for if they're not enough for the creators to keep creating....

I honestly hope YT dies. Its everything that's wrong with the Internet and corporate ownership. Or at the very least it needs new competition, but the Google lawyers and money are ensuring that won't happen, either by shutting it down before it releases, or takedown notices to bate the band due to copyright bs.

I've never watched more half videos than I have in the last few years. Most videos on YT I don't finish nowadays because ads. And if it can't survive without ads, then let it die. Seemed to work great before ads were a thing....

astrofool · 11-09-2024 04:51PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122605278#Comment_122605278

TV ads are usually 5 minutes so interesting that 2 minutes is now too long.

We've been living in a world where chasing viewing numbers was able to keep the services going, now that the rubber has hit the road, they need to be run at profit, we'll see a bunch of streamers amalgamate over the next few years (and we've seen the same in the gaming business to devastating effect).

If someone can come along and do it cheaper, they might have a chance, but expecting scale, vast content and free of ads without some sort of subscription is unlikely to happen.

Potential-Monke · 11-09-2024 05:45PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122605884#Comment_122605884

How'd they manage it before it became ad infested? YT is not designed for ads. It never was. Ads don't suit the short form factor. But they managed without them for years. I was even OK with the odd in video promotion. But now, it's just ads for the sake of ads. Two minutes of ads only 2 minutes into the video is the problem. It hasn't even started and ads... then ads about 5 mins after that, and so on. And there isn't even consistency. Sometimes it's skippable after 5 seconds, sometimes it's 20 seconds before you can skip, and most times it's unskippable. And it's always for gambling, drink or baby stuff for some reason... 3 things I have no interest in.

As I said, if it can't be done without ads, then let it die. This adhd American version of ads fupping everywhere is horrible. YT used to be ad free and still turned massive profits. Now it's greed driven knowing there's no competition so fup the user base.

I should note I don't watch TV, haven't in over a decade. And I hated the ads in them too. I also only watch videos 5-15 minutes in length.

Websites charging to remove personalised ads

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