Alarming YouTube Crackdown Hides Core Features For Ad Block Users

Users are reporting that YouTube has cracked down on its use of ad blockers, instead blocking huge features to the website that limit your interaction. Here’s what we know so far.

I know I’m not the only one who can’t eat without watching YouTube. I fall asleep to speedrun history videos (shout out to my GOAT SummoningSalt) or Pokemon challenge runs (shout out to Johnstone and FlygonHG, my personal faves). I’m one of the 5% of people who actually bother to pay for YouTube Premium for this exact reason - I can’t be bothered to set up an ad blocker for my TV. But I know I’m in the minority here.

Fans on Reddit are claiming that comments and video descriptions vanish if they’re using an ad blocker.

I have to say, disabling the YouTube comments section seems like a perk to me. All kidding aside, this is a serious issue that's impacting a lot of YouTube users, including YouTube Premium users using ad blockers, according to Android Authority. Yikes.

YouTube

How to Fix Comments and Video Descriptions Disappearing on YouTube

You’re not going to like the answer to this. If you want to solve comments and video descriptions disappearing on YouTube, the only current answer is to disable your ad blocker.

You might wonder if privacy-focused browsers like Opera GX or Brave can circumvent this ban: the answer is... Mixed. I tested it myself on Brave, using its built-in ad blocker, and it was still working for me.

I also tested it on Firefox in the UK, and, at time of writing, it was working too

You might be wondering if it’s a simple glitch, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Users report that once they turn off their ad-blocking extension, the comments and video descriptions come back. To me, this suggests a deliberate feature, rather than a bug.

However, this change would be in line with the changes YouTube has made to ads in the past.

We’ve had ad blocker pop-ups since 2023, and YouTube is hiding more features, like lyrics, background play and offline downloads behind a paywall.

At time of writing (18 February 2026) YouTube has not issued a statement on whether this is a bug, or a permanent change. I’ll be sure to update you if they say anything!

It’s a pain, but I can recommend paying a little bit for YouTube Premium - it’s the only subscription service I personally use, and pay for out of my own pocket.

Plus, besides things like sponsorships and Patreon, it’s a good way to support your favourite creators.

Creators receive 55% of the net revenue generated from YouTube Premium subscription fees, which is a win in my book.