TwitchAdSolutions/README.md

TwitchAdSolutions

This repo aims to provide multiple solutions for blocking Twitch ads.

Recommendations

M3U8 proxies (or full proxies / VPNs) are currently the most reliable way of avoiding ads. More proxy hosts would be ideal (see #8).

• Twitch AdBlock - chrome / firefox - code

Alternatively:

• notify-strip is ok-ish.
• Alternate Player for Twitch.tv consistently updates with new ad-blocking methods.
• ttv_adEraser somewhat fixes the purple screen issue of ttv-ublock.
• ttv-tools (firefox) has nice features.

Current solutions

These solutions generally aren't compatible with other Twitch ad blockers. e.g. ttv-ublock will break some of these.

If you want a perfect solution, please use Twitch AdBlock.

• notify-strip (ublock / userscript)
  • The same as strip, but notifies Twitch that ads were "watched" (reduces preroll ad frequency).
• notify-reload (ublock / userscript)
  • Notifies that ads were watched, then reloads the player.
  • Repeats this until no ads (which may never happen ~ infinite reload).
  • You should expect 3-10 player reloads (give or take). Once successful you shouldn't see preroll ads for a while on any stream (10+ minutes?).
• strip (ublock / userscript)
  • Ad segments are replaced by low resolution stream segments (on a m3u8 level).
  • TODO: Fix midrolls issues (stream freezes for several seconds / potentially longer low res than needed).
  • NOTE: Removing segments doesn't notify Twitch that ads were watched (aka more served ads).
• low-res (ublock / userscript)
  • No ads.
  • The stream is 480p for the duration of the stream.
• mute-black (ublock / userscript)
  • Ads are muted / blacked out for the duration of the ad.
  • You might see tiny bits of the ad.
• video-swap (ublock / userscript)
  • Ads are replaced by a low resolution stream for the duration of the ad.
  • Similar to strip, but skips closer to 20 seconds when switching to the live stream (TODO: low latency support).
  • You might see tiny bits of the ad.
  • Audio controls wont work whilst the ad is playing.
  • There are various UX/UI issues with this script which need to be addressed.
• proxy-m3u8 (ublock / userscript) (proxy currently points to a dead url)
  • Uses a proxy server to fetch an ad-free stream.
  • Currently only the initial m3u8 is proxied, so there shouldn't be any additional latency.
  • Assumes the proxy server acts in good faith and maintains a good uptime.

The following renamed/deprecated scripts will be removed from the master branch on 1st March 2021:

• dyn renamed to strip as this better reflects the functionality (strips ad segments).
• dyn-skip removed as it no longer works.
• dyn-skip-midroll renamed to notify-reload as the original name has lost its meaning.
• dyn-skip-midroll-alt renamed to notify-strip as the original name has lost its meaning.
• dyn-video-swap renamed to video-swap.

Applying a solution (uBlock Origin)

• Navigate to the uBlock Origin Dashboard (the extension options)
• Under the My filters tab add twitch.tv##+js(twitch-videoad).
• Under the Settings tab, enable I am an advanced user, then click the cog that appears. Modify the value of userResourcesLocation from unset to the full url of the solution you wish to use (if a url is already in use, add a space after the existing url). e.g. userResourcesLocation https://github.com/pixeltris/TwitchAdSolutions/raw/master/notify-strip/notify-strip-ublock-origin.js
• To ensure uBlock Origin loads the script I recommend that you disable/enable the uBlock Origin extension (or restart your browser).

Applying a solution (userscript)

• Viewing one of the userscript files should prompt the given script to be added.

Other solutions / projects

For a more detailed description of the following please refer to this.

• https://github.com/odensc/ttv-ublock (extension - purple screen may display every 10-15 mins)
• https://github.com/Nerixyz/ttv-tools (Firefox extension)
• https://github.com/LeonHeidelbach/ttv_adEraser (extension)
• https://github.com/instance01/Twitch-HLS-AdBlock (extension)
• https://github.com/Wilkolicious/twitchAdSkip (UserScript + FrankerFaceZ)
• https://gist.github.com/simple-hacker/ddd81964b3e8bca47e0aead5ad19a707 (UserScript + FrankerFaceZ(optional))
• https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/415412-twitch-refresh-on-advert/code (UserScript + FrankerFaceZ(optional))
• Alternate Player for Twitch.tv - code (extension)
• Twitch AdBlock - code (extension)

---

• https://github.com/streamlink/streamlink (desktop application)
• https://github.com/nopbreak/TwitchMod (android app)
• https://twitchls.com/ (external site - purple screen may display every 10-15 mins)
• Use a VPN targeting a region without ads

NOTE/TODO

NOTE: Many of these solutions could do with improvements.
TODO: Test midroll ads.
TODO: More testing in general.