New Advertising Decision Affecting Mobile YouTube Users

YouTube is making it a bit harder to skip ads on its mobile app. Instead of a visible timer, the "Skip" button will now only appear after a certain part of the ad has been watched.

Reports suggest that YouTube is testing a new feature on its mobile app that hides the countdown timer and removes the gray skip button from ads. The modified feature shows the skip button only after users have watched a specific portion of the ad.

YouTube Hides the Skip Button on Mobile Devices

The purpose of removing the countdown timer is to shift users' attention from when they can skip the ad to its actual content. Previously, users could see a visible timer counting down to when they could skip the ad. Now, the button will only appear after a portion of the ad has been viewed.

At first glance, this new tactic seems designed to make users think the ad cannot be skipped. However, users can still gauge when an ad is skippable by observing the yellow progress bar at the bottom of the screen.

YouTube's changes in mobile app ads are currently in the testing phase and have not been officially announced by the company. Since not all users can confirm this feature, it's clear that it’s still in trial mode. It's uncertain whether Google will fully implement these changes or adjust them based on user feedback and testing results.