There have been continuous rounds of controversy involving the supposed removal of the skip button for ads on YouTube, something which was long predicted by well-informed industry experts and proficient tipsters.
YouTube's skip ad button is not removed
To present its take on the matter, Google claimed that the button has not been removed and is still there as part of YouTube's plans to reinvigorate the UI aesthetics.
The development stepped into the limelight when Redditors reported the disappearance of YouTube's skip ad button, stating that a grey rectangle was overlapping the button on YouTube's web version.
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Citing an in-house journalist, Android Police reported that the skip ad button was replaced with a countdown timer, but only on the mobile app.
YouTube's ad button replaced with progress bar
"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 Ads Communication Manager Oluwa Falodun told the publication.
In an effort to encourage users to "engage more deeply with the ad creative", Falodun remarked that YouTube is now more into ensuring a cleaner and more seamless viewing experience.
Considering the reports piling up with visual proofs, it seems that the countdown timer does not exist anymore, rather replaced by a progress bar reading the time remaining in the visibility of the skip ad button.