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YouTube refreshes the skip ad button with a cleaner aesthetic

It now has a progress bar instead of a countdown with a five-second timer.

Person holding a phone with the YouTube logo on the screen.
Image: Pexels

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It can be annoying to have an advertisement break into a YouTube video that you are watching. However, you can skip the advertisement after a specific duration, typically after five seconds.

However, some users have recently accused YouTube of trying to cover up the skip button by placing black rectangles in its way. 

Folks over at Android Police first reported that the skip button is missing on the ads on the YouTube mobile app. And now, YouTube has released a statement addressing this issue. 

There is still a skip ad button on YouTube videos

According to statements provided to Android Police, YouTube is only tweaking certain aspects of how advertisements are shown rather than taking away the skip button.

YouTube spokesperson Oluwa Falodun says in a statement to Android Police that “YouTube is not hiding the skip button. On skippable ads, the button appears after 5 seconds into playback, as always. Viewers on the mobile and desktop experience may see the countdown timer now appear as a progress bar on the bottom of the screen.” 

YouTube says its goal is to make watching videos easier and more streamlined for its users. By reducing distractions, the platform hopes to get its users to “engage more deeply with the ad creative.” As a result, it now has a progress bar instead of a countdown with a five-second timer.

Following its action against ad blockers, YouTube has made it abundantly clear that it wants you to watch advertising. It doesn’t seem to be going so far as to prevent you from using the skip button, though. While subscribing to YouTube Premium would render all of this useless, the cost continues to rise.

For the time being at least, the skip ad button remains available. All you have to do is wait the required five seconds or more, as indicated by a tiny status indicator.

What do you think about YouTube’s new design decision? Is it just another way of maximizing ad watch time? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below, and follow us on our Twitter and Facebook for more tech news.

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Ronil is a Computer Engineer by education and a consumer technology writer by choice. Over the course of his professional career, his work has appeared in reputable publications like MakeUseOf, TechJunkie, GreenBot, and many more. When not working, you’ll find him at the gym breaking a new PR.

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