YouTube is almost unusable now unless you pay for it

Believe it or not, YouTube is my favorite streaming app — and it’s not really close. I spend countless hours on YouTube each week, and it helps keep me entertained while writing articles like this. Over the years, however, it feels like the massive value YouTube once had has been slipping further away. Ads have always been there, and while they were annoying, it’s not like you couldn’t easily deal with them. Ad-blockers have been around for a long time, and for many people, they are essential to enjoying the platform.