YouTube was announced this week it will now block ads during live streams if chat engagement is at its peak and if users show support with Super Chat, Super Stickers or gift purchases. Until now, the only way to avoid seeing ads was to pay for a YouTube Premium subscription.
The Google-owned platform told a blog post that when a conversation explodes with energy, he wants to “protect that collective atmosphere.” When YouTube’s system recognizes that engagement is high, the platform will automatically withhold ads for everyone.
The idea behind this change is to help creators maintain momentum for viewers without ad interruptions, the company says.
On the other hand, when a fan shows support with a Super Chat, Super Stickers or gifts, they will be immediately rewarded with a personal ad-free window immediately after their purchase. For context, Super Chat allows viewers to pay to highlight their messages, while Super Stickers are images that users can purchase to make their messages stand out in chats.
YouTube announced these changes along with other updates for live creators. The company announced that more creators around the world are now eligible to receive gifts from viewers, as the gifts are now live in Canada, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.
Additionally, viewers can now send GIFs to creators’ horizontal live streams, not just vertical ones, directly from their mobile devices.
YouTube also announced that creators can now go live in both portrait and landscape formats at the same time, with all viewers able to connect to a single shared chat. The company says more than 30% of live viewing time in the US will come from connected TVs in 2025, so it wants creators to be able to tailor their streams for all kinds of screens.
Techcrunch event
San Francisco, California
|
13-15 October 2026
The move comes just days after YouTube raised subscription prices for YouTube Premium in the U.S. The individual YouTube Premium plan is increasing from $13.99 to $15.99 per month, while the family plan is increasing from $22.99 to $26.99 per month.
