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Comment by mr_windfrog | Hacker News Reader

I'm using Firefox + uBlock Origin, and this combo blocks ads perfectly for me. Anyone else using the same setup?

Yes, with Sponsorblock to skip in-video ads.

Same, but I only watch Youtube through MPV (which also has Sponsorblock plugins). When I need to actually browse Youtube I use an Invidious instance. I don't even remember the last time I intentionally watched a video on the Youtube website proper.

I use this combination on my personal laptop, but on my work machine I need to use Edge browser. For some reason, Edge still supports the uBlock Origin extension, so I get to avoid ads on my work laptop too.

> For some reason, Edge still supports the uBlock Origin extension

They still accept updates to existing Manifest V2 extensions [1].

[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/extensions/...

I use Firefox with uBlock Origin for pretty much everything, but I still occasionally use Chrome, now with uBlock Origin Lite.

I can't say I'm noticing any ads on Chrome, the lite ad blocker seems just as effective.

+ ghostery + pihole.

I like his suggestion of VPN via cloud. I might set up something with wireguard or tailscale for that.

I don't really use youtube, but my family does, so If anyone knows a way to get a better ui experience as a google tv app I'd be keen to hear it?

what does ghostery do for you on top of ublock origin?

The article links to iSponsorBlockTV: https://github.com/dmunozv04/iSponsorBlockTV

This doesn't change the UI as such, but it auto-mutes ads, and auto-skips once the skip option is available. It's a bit of a funny thing to setup, but it works great once setup.

I use this via Home Assistant add on to skip ads on my apple tvs. Not as good as smarttube on nvidia shield, but best you can do on tvOS.

You can self-host Invidious and connect to it with yattee. (The UI is… not the best, but it’s generally functional, and better than ads.)

There's also an app called Clipious on F-Droid that can connect to an Invidious instance.

I don't use it much since I started using the ReVanced patched YouTube app, but it used to work well enough for casual usage.

Interesting could you share how to do this?

https://github.com/dmunozv04/iSponsorBlockTV should get you started. In HA, it will available in the Settings > Add-ons / Add-on store. If you don't have home assistant, you can always run it on an rpi or in docker on a system on your network.

https://medium.com/@lumenyx/isponsorblocktv-on-a-raspberry-p...

sideload SmartTube. I use it along with youtube premium to get a stellar experience.

>+ ghostery + pihole.

Both are superfluous if you have ublock, and pihole doesn't do anything for "native" ads like on twitch or youtube. The only benefit is that it blocks ads in apps that use third party ad SDKs.

Ghostery has a history of slightly problematic behaviour if you’re using it for privacy purposes.

You probably should use AdNausem instead. It uses same uBlock under the hood, but it clicks all the ads. Site owners make money and advertisers loose them. Additionally, if enough of us switch from uBlock to AdNausem (which are nearly identical), it would be the end of surveillances capitalism. It just wouldn't be profitable anymore.

> it clicks all the ads.

sound dangerous...

From FAQ:

>AdNauseam 'clicks' Ads by issuing an HTTP request to the URL to which they lead. In current versions this is done via an XMLHttpRequest (or AJAX request) issued in a background process. This lightweight request signals a 'click' on the server responsible for the Ad, but does so without opening any additional windows or pages on your computer. Further it allows AdNauseam to safely receive and discard the resulting response data, rather than executing it in the browser, thus preventing a range of potential security problems (ransomware, rogue Javascript or Flash code, XSS-attacks, etc.) caused by malfunctioning or malicious Ads. Although it is completely safe, AdNauseam's clicking behaviour can be de-activated in the settings panel.

https://github.com/dhowe/adnauseam/wiki/FAQ#how-does-adnause...

When I tried it a few years ago it just didn't work. It just did not block ads. I have no clue why.

Perfect combo, where it can be used.

Look into Sponsor Block as well.

and also "dearrow" for good measure. it replaces the titles and thumbnails with something less sensational. not having to look at those stupid faces that youtubers make is a big plus as well

the freetube app has both of those extensions built in. you just have to enable them in the settings

Don't forget Consent-O-Matic if you live in the EU+UK, to auto-reject all cookie and GDPR forms.

We need it everywhere, we get those gdpr forms because sites don't differentiate at all.

GDPR requires opt-in consent, so simply not displaying the cookie notice is functionally equivalent to rejecting permission.

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