Today's post is our reply to a question left on one of our video posts. The reader wishes to remain anonymous, which is okay with us.
"How do you get rid of ads on videos?"
Thanks for asking your question.
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There are several free and many pay apps that say they get rid of ads. Most have to be downloaded and start out free and later revert to become a pay app. they charge anywhere from free to $5, and some are as high as $100.
Before we tell you how to get rid of ads on videos, you need to know why ads are shown and the information any site or download gathers about you.
But when the apps are free, somewhere along the line it is going to cost you something - either in real money (like when you don't cancel at the end of the "free trial,") or in your privacy rights.
Let's use ad-blockers as an example: If you have an ad-blocker on your device, some sites won't show you the video until you disable it. If you don't, you will be returned to your previous screen. It is better (and easier) to disable it than it is to remove it.
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
But when the apps are free, somewhere along the line it is going to cost you something - either in real money (like when you don't cancel at the end of the "free trial,") or in your privacy rights.
Let's use ad-blockers as an example: If you have an ad-blocker on your device, some sites won't show you the video until you disable it. If you don't, you will be returned to your previous screen. It is better (and easier) to disable it than it is to remove it.
TRUSTED SITE SYMBOL
The words "trusted site" are loosely used these days because it gives you false confidence. In most cases, it means they won't give you a virus.
In truth, there are no downloads or sites that can be 100% trusted. Any site can be hacked. Any site, app or download can be attacked by a virus.
A major problem with most free ad-blocker apps is they have bloatware. You'll know by the size of the download, how long it takes, and if you get a credit card prompt.
These can be spammy ads to sell you other apps and introductory offers which often are "trial offers" that you'll need to cancel within a certain time limit before being charged.
And of course, they can have malware which isn't always a virus, but considering how hard malware is to get rid of, it may as well be a virus.
SITE PREFERENCES AND COOKIES
There are bigger more serious issues about free downloads, site preferences and cookies.
Before you download anything, or watch videos, or read posts on a site, they will always prompt you to allow or accept their cookies by clicking a button - "accept all," "deny or block," or "set your preferences."
Your choice gives them permission to gather certain types of personal information about you which includes your demographics (age, gender, physical location, IP address location, income, marital status, children, employment status), your interests and internet history.
They say they need the info so they can steer ads and apps to you by using your preferences, but many sites also sell your information to third party vendors - which is how they get paid.
They also may ask for a credit card "to keep on file." Never do this. Why would you want them to have this on their site when you may never buy anything again?
They also may ask for a credit card "to keep on file." Never do this. Why would you want them to have this on their site when you may never buy anything again?
Enter your credit card info for one purchase, then remove. It's a pain to keep entering it anew each time, but safer. Or use Paypal.
YouTube has the worst cookie policy about this . They always ask for more information than they need, saying it is so they can show you pertinent videos, ads, and popups in your sidebars for a better user experience.
YouTube also offers an option to remove ads on your videos but you'll have to upgrade your YouTube account to Premium which can cost up to $100 depending on where you live. Generally this removes ads from YouTube only, not other sites.
SAVING YOUR PASSWORD
Prompts like "Remember me" and "Save password for this site" are convenience prompts. They are meant so you don't have to look up your details for that site every time you want to log in, but this convenience comes at a cost.
Remember: A hacker has no need to crack your passwords if they are "saved" on your sites because those "save" buttons make it easy for him.
One site might not be enough so he gathers information from the "saves" on all your other sites, then develops a list of common passwords and security questions. He can use them to hack into your financial accounts to compromise your credit or steal your identity. For your social accounts, he can change the login details so you lose access and he can become "you."
Accepting cookies is tricky. Some sites have a trial offer hidden in their cookie preferences which automatically signs you up to subscribe to new offers.
If you don't cancel the service after the trial period, you will see a new charge on your credit card bill.
It pays to read the fine print.
All these choices have to be made before you even download the app!
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Our easy to follow tutorial is for the free version because we like free and we never pay for anything that we know we can get for free!
TO REMOVE ADS WHILE VIDEO IS PLAYING
When you see an ad banner across your video, hold your mouse in the right corner of the ad (top or bottom depending on what part of the screen the ad is showing) and click the X. This gets rid of only that one ad. You may get more popups. Just click the X to keep removing.
If you get a prompt to ask why you are removing, say it is covering the content.
If there is a choice that says the ad compromised or disturbed your user experience, select that choice. The ad annoyed you so it qualifies.
Read on.
Mostly every video has a 4 corner square at the bottom right corner of the video screen. If you hover your mouse over it, you will get the option to view the video in "full screen," like this:
TO WATCH A VIDEO IN FULL SCREEN
Mostly every video has a 4 corner square at the bottom right corner of the video screen. If you hover your mouse over it, you will get the option to view the video in "full screen," like this:
You won't lose your place in the video because the full screen option is just an overlay that goes on top of your original screen. Whatever you were watching stays.
To get out of full screen and return to your original work, there are a few options: click ESC on your device, or tap F10 function key, or tap the spacebar, or tap the enter button.
TO SHARE OR WATCH LATER
If you want to share a video or if you get interrupted and can't finish watching it, you will see the "share" button and the "Watch Later" button at top left.
"Share" auto-copies a code so you can paste it in a message to send to a friend.
The "Watch Later" button saves your progress. When you come back to the site, anything saved on "Watch Later" shows as a prompt so you don't forget about it or lose your place.
THE "SKIP ADS" BUTTON
Often an ad will run before they start the video so the owner gets paid something but only if the ad is viewed for a certain length of time.
This brings us to the "Skip Ad" button. If they didn't catch your ad-blocker before, they will catch it now.
The bottom left of the screen will show you how long the ad is, before you get the "SKIP AD" option.
As you can see in the following example, the ad ends in 3 seconds.
Sometimes there is no SKIP AD button in which case you are forced to watch the whole advertisement.
Sometimes it is less painful when they have a countdown timer to let you know how long the ad will last.
Sometimes you'll have to wait a whole five (5) seconds to SKIP AD.
Depending on how agonizing the ad is, that five seconds can go very fast or very slow.
In either case, it is five seconds of your life you will never get back.
Thanks for asking your questions.
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