[Sorry, I'm not using the template as most items on it are not applicable]
Should I expect PiHole DB include all subdomains RANDOMCHARS.googlevideo.com? i.e. is this a known bug/limitation that PiHole is unable to block video ads on youtube?
githubsaturn
All 3 comments
Unfortunately for people wishing to block ads, legitimate YouTube videos are also served from those *.googlevideo.com domains; if you blocked those, you wouldn't be able to use YouTube at all. So it's not really a bug or issue with Pi-hole, but with the nature of blocking by domain, which is a fairly monolithic solution which is great for some purposes and not great for others.
A browser-based ad-blocker will be much better at blocking YouTube ads, but is obviously no help if you're browsing YouTube via a smart device app or similar where you can't just install an ad-blocking extension.
In that scenario, if you've got an Android device, I think you should be able to do something like install Opera (built-in ad blocking support) or Firefox with an ad-blocker extension (Firefox supports extensions on Android) and watch YouTube via those instead of in a dedicated app. On iOS, Opera's built-in ad-blocking might be your best bet, as extension support is not allowed by Apple, so Firefox won't help much.
I don't personally have any Android or iOS devices on-hand to check whether those solutions work, though, so don't take that advice as gospel.
vaguerant
on 20 Feb 2018
Unfortunately for people wishing to block ads, legitimate YouTube videos are also served from those *.googlevideo.com domains; if you blocked those, you wouldn't be able to use YouTube at all. So it's not really a bug or issue with Pi-hole, but with the nature of blocking by domain, which is a fairly monolithic solution which is great for some purposes and not great for others.
That's what I thought, but I wasn't sure if this is a known limitation or I have misconfigured something.
githubsaturn
on 20 Feb 2018
Closing and suggesting a more appropriate place for discussion, as this is not an issue with the source, per se.
https://discourse.pi-hole.net/t/how-do-i-block-ads-on-youtube/253
PromoFaux
on 23 Feb 2018
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Most helpful comment
Unfortunately for people wishing to block ads, legitimate YouTube videos are also served from those *.googlevideo.com domains; if you blocked those, you wouldn't be able to use YouTube at all. So it's not really a bug or issue with Pi-hole, but with the nature of blocking by domain, which is a fairly monolithic solution which is great for some purposes and not great for others.
A browser-based ad-blocker will be much better at blocking YouTube ads, but is obviously no help if you're browsing YouTube via a smart device app or similar where you can't just install an ad-blocking extension.
In that scenario, if you've got an Android device, I think you should be able to do something like install Opera (built-in ad blocking support) or Firefox with an ad-blocker extension (Firefox supports extensions on Android) and watch YouTube via those instead of in a dedicated app. On iOS, Opera's built-in ad-blocking might be your best bet, as extension support is not allowed by Apple, so Firefox won't help much.
I don't personally have any Android or iOS devices on-hand to check whether those solutions work, though, so don't take that advice as gospel.