I’ve been wondering if automated download tools will be subject to this. I run Downie and youtube-dl on my Mac. Both have escaped ads until now. I haven’t yet run into the ad-block-block to test if they can get around it.
I think youtube-dl (or yt-dlp) takes frame buffers from watching the video and just glues them together. I don’t think there is much Google could, they have already tried to take it off GitHub before.
If you don’t mind paying ~2$ a month, you can get Family Premium using a VPN (I used India)
Current working method from HUKD: (Private/Incognito browser is best)
Create a new Google Account. Enter card details. Enter a fake billing address, any random address generator will do, as long as it’s from the correct region. Then select Try it Free. Navigate to YouTube, press YouTube Premium, and double-check that everything is in the right currency. Enter the same credit card and address information you used for creating the new Google Account. Click Buy 👍
You can then add your main Google account as a family member.👍
About $15/year if you do Turkey and use a Privacy.com card
