As much as we might bemoan the streaming behemoth, YouTube is still where a huge chunk of our daily video watching happens. That might mean actively sitting down to watch for some people, or just letting it run in the background for others. But between ads and general visual clutter, the experience doesn’t always feel especially focused on the video itself.
That’s what prompted Andy Walker to dig into the best ways to watch YouTube without ads and interruptions. He laid out a range of approaches that he has tried, from browsers and third-party apps to straight-up paying for YouTube Premium. Within that piece, Andy posed a poll question to you to see which of these options our readers actually rely on in real life and how divided opinions really are when it comes to tolerating YouTube as it is. The results are presented below and make for curious reading.
How do you watch YouTube interruption-free on Android?
The results show a fairly clear front-runner, with paying for YouTube Premium emerging as the top choice at 31% of the vote. Third-party Android YouTube apps weren’t far behind on 26%, while 18% said they simply stick with the official YouTube app and tolerate the ads. Browsers with dedicated video controls accounted for 16%, while smaller groups reported that they either don’t watch YouTube on their phone at all (5%) or use an alternative method entirely (4%).
What’s interesting here is that there’s no single dominant workaround. Premium’s win suggests plenty of people are willing to pay to make the problem go away, especially if it works everywhere with no setup required. There will always be unofficial ways to circumvent ads, but Google must be doing something right to lure almost one in three people to its subscription model.
There’s no single dominant workaround.
At the same time, the strong showing for third-party apps and browsers indicates a sizable group that wants more flexibility or a fee-free option. Almost half of the respondents are actively sidestepping the official experience in some manner, despite there being no consensus on the best approach to do so.
The fact that nearly one in five still puts up with ads, though, suggests friction alone isn’t always enough to push people to change how they watch YouTube.
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The comments filled in some of the gaps left by the poll itself. Because one of the options explicitly invited you to elaborate, many respondents used the space to name specific tools or explain why they’d landed on a particular approach. Unsurprisingly, YouTube ReVanced came up repeatedly, often framed as the closest thing to the official app without the ads. Others pointed to browser-based setups, such as Firefox paired with ad blockers and SponsorBlock, especially on desktop.
There was also a clear divide in attitudes toward paying in general. Several commenters were unapologetic about subscribing to YouTube Premium, either for the convenience it offers or to support the creators. For example, jtpryan wrote, “I just pay the $14 a month. Price of a few coffees for God’s sake. I get way too much enjoyment out of YT to not pay for it and waste even more time squeezing a nickel.” Others questioned the value proposition, which is also fair enough. Not everyone has the budget or the usage to fork out for the premium experience when a free version exists.
A few practical edge cases popped up, like people who watch YouTube so infrequently that ads barely register, or those who subscribe to YouTube Music and were surprised to discover it also removes video ads. As always, YouTube evoked strong opinions on both sides, which demonstrates its pervasive presence in daily life.
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