Zhenyi Tan

I make apps like Vinegar, Baking Soda, Web Inspector for iOS, History Book, etc. Latest app: Gibberish.

Public Key

npub1h2w5nrepjq4fsdk75xhr68wcjnj4qu24eu3fc3agya0ls9f0ng2qwcjzqt

NIP-05 Address

zhenyi_at_mastodon.social@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqst482f3useq25cxm02rt3arhvffe2sw92u7g5ug75zwhlcz5he59qpfeuvw

Author Public Key

npub1h2w5nrepjq4fsdk75xhr68wcjnj4qu24eu3fc3agya0ls9f0ng2qwcjzqt

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Last Notes

2024-09-09 18:18:28

The explanation nobody needed: Honor of Kings is like League of Legends, but popular in Asia. They created an MMORPG using the IP. To the Chinese, "world" means MMORPG, because, uhh, Warcraft and World of Warcraft.

2024-09-09 17:52:19

Cowboy frog looks like Cell in DBZ

2024-09-09 17:31:47

The Apple Watches look gigantic on their wrists.

2024-09-09 14:44:35

Weird Safari Extension Bugs
There are 2 Safari extension bugs that drive me nuts when doing customer support. (Well, more than 2, but these 2 are the most notorious lately.)
https://andadinosaur.com/weird-safari-extension-bugs

2024-09-07 14:06:11

Running a web service means being stressed out by things like this 😓
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/096/648/406/398/805/original/79ab71d247f7f122.jpeg

2024-09-06 18:52:28

Finally updated my apps page. So I've made 22 apps so far, with 6 of them retired
https://andadinosaur.com/apps

2024-09-06 11:55:41

Launch: Lucky Notes
https://andadinosaur.com/launch-lucky-notes
Typically, “personalization” means doing some creepy shit, like sifting through your personal data, building a profile of you, and then using algorithms to figure out what you might want to see.
My solution is very stupid. I made an app that lets you save text snippets. So when you search, Lucky will also search through your saved text and include the relevant results.

2024-09-06 09:51:51

Threads keep recommending me these 2 types of posts:
1. Why do leaves change color in the fall? 🤔
2. I used to live in a small town called Borington. Every day, I would wake up at 6:30 AM. Then, I would brush my teeth. Then, I would comb my hair. Then, I would have a bowl of oatmeal for Breakfast. Then, I would go to work... 🧵👇 (1/366)

2024-09-04 05:33:02

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@npub1fxl…evd9 CATSUP

2024-09-03 23:44:34

App idea: Make this reusable grocery list. With a skeuomorphic design. Add iCloud sync and CloudKit sharing.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/076/272/590/153/934/original/654dc430a550f1d0.jpeg

2024-09-03 20:50:11

"Training an LLM with more data won't make it smarter. [...] It's like a search engine that has indexed only 100 web pages isn't very useful, but a search engine that has indexed 10 billion web pages will have a much higher chance of returning a relevant result."
https://zhenyi.gibber.blog/ai-advertising

2024-09-02 14:21:51

Why you are having a hard time coming up with good, profitable ideas
https://zhenyi.gibber.blog/why-you-are-having-a-hard-time-coming-up-with-good-profitable-ideas

2024-09-01 10:56:14

Why is it always Steve Jobs? Steve Jobs facts have become as prevalent as Chuck Norris facts among business people, where people made up things like, "Steve Jobs believed…" to justify their own decisions.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/061/930/383/583/119/original/009bb8d24938e239.jpeg

2024-08-31 15:44:14

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I'm sure there must be businesspeople out there who read this and think, "Wow, that's great!" 🤷🏻‍♂️

2024-08-31 15:43:34

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Images and videos too. We already see product placement in real videos and movies, so why not in AI-generated ones?

2024-08-31 15:43:11

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https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/057/397/822/022/606/original/a252ad5e3b84b322.jpeg

2024-08-31 15:42:00

With more people using LLM to search, it's only a matter of time before businesses start paying to have the LLM casually mention their products, like Coca-Cola®, in the conversation.

2024-08-31 10:27:00

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the ad
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/056/153/693/526/577/original/eed5627e66b398a4.jpeg

2024-08-31 10:02:18

Of course the ChatGPT wrappers are advertising themselves as the new AI feature coming in iOS 18…
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/056/053/934/888/188/original/88d7d5159580563a.jpeg

2024-08-30 16:13:35

I'm making a silly notes app. When you save text to the Lucky Notes app, it appears in Lucky's search results.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/051/845/271/642/479/original/e7a4b357e838c81c.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/051/845/889/778/107/original/a9f613f6bc5a3f22.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/051/846/284/203/530/original/dc60954d0651067d.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/051/847/077/740/946/original/9a774eb2f2fa7c46.jpeg

2024-08-29 11:25:44

https://isfeeling.social/@matt/113042196926173727
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/045/059/596/782/473/original/a7414bb36518607a.mp4

2024-08-28 11:49:38

You want to make a bit of money? You should get into farming.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/039/488/927/722/297/original/675b7a5775e93307.mp4

2024-08-28 11:46:28

Except most companies will notice your CV looks the same as everyone else's that uses AI to write them. Then they will disqualify you. Come back when you actually get a job with one of these.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/039/474/122/789/472/original/ab3773e03e1c69f7.jpeg

2024-08-25 19:07:29

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@npub19nd…rcpy OK! It's coming in the next update

2024-08-25 18:55:00

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@npub19nd…rcpy the YouTube favicon is just very low quality and low-res, I'm not sure why 😬

2024-08-24 06:27:42

"If you're so frustrated with Apple, why don't you develop on other platforms?"
Because the other side isn't any better.
https://old.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1ezirdx/how_i_lost_my_google_play_dev_account_forever/

2024-08-20 15:25:43

ICYMI: I shipped an app that turns the Google search results page into "10 blue links".
(It also removes tracking and lets you block spammy domains. The setup is a bit weird.)
https://andadinosaur.com/launch-lucky

2024-08-20 06:04:31

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@npub1d7e…0j7q Thanks for the kind words! I'm only making this app to fix Imgur links. But let me know if you have any requests, and I'll consider adding it 😬

2024-08-19 16:06:07

Launch: Imgpls
I wrote this app to fix a personal annoyance. You probably don’t need it.
https://andadinosaur.com/launch-imgpls

2024-08-18 18:00:43

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@npub1vn8…sajy It also means you care deeply about your craft! People who are like "meh, it's good enough, ship it" wouldn't spend 8 months adding finishing touches to an app.

2024-08-18 09:47:41

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@npub1fxl…evd9 Version 1.0.3 is out now. Can you give it a try and see if it fixes your problems?

2024-08-18 08:56:30

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@npub1mw0…r3w6 can you provide more details on how it's broken? A screenshot would be helpful

2024-08-17 13:42:06

Clarifying the Yahoo and Google Confusion with Lucky
https://andadinosaur.com/clarifying-the-yahoo-and-google-confusion-with-lucky

2024-08-17 06:35:51

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@npub1hv4…mpws I'm not sure how to add support for uBlacklist rulesets, but I'll check it out 😬

2024-08-17 06:32:53

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If you're wondering why your Google search looks the same, you need to set your default search engine to Yahoo.
Lucky fetches Google's results and shows them on Yahoo. This way, you can switch back to the original Google if needed.

2024-08-16 17:26:14

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@npub1fxl…evd9 ahh OK. I'm really sorry about this ☹️ I'll see what I can do in the next update. Maybe include a built-in troubleshooter…

2024-08-16 17:21:30

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@npub1fxl…evd9 this is gonna sound weird, but what if you try connecting to a wifi network? 😬

2024-08-16 16:38:57

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@npub1fxl…evd9 😞 do you have any network setup that might block the Lucky app from accessing google.com?

2024-08-16 16:28:46

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@npub1fxl…evd9 err, what happen if you search for something simple, like "testing"?

2024-08-16 16:19:59

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@npub1fxl…evd9 try deleting the app, reinstall, and go through the setup process again?

2024-08-16 16:15:45

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@npub1fxl…evd9 hmm, try force quitting and reopening both the Lucky app and Safari?

2024-08-16 16:06:20

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@npub1fxl…evd9 the extension fetches results from Google and displays it in yahoo.com 😅 so you can fall back to the unmodified Google search should you need it

2024-08-16 15:40:37

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@npub15dm…jyzf Adapt it to… remove clutter from DDG? Probably not. Other search engines aren't as bad as Google 😅

2024-08-16 14:08:01

Launch: Lucky
Lucky is a Safari extension that removes the clutter from the Google search results page, leaving you with the 10 blue links.
https://andadinosaur.com/launch-lucky
(Lucky also removes tracking, lets you block spammy domains, and fixes some of the annoyances with Google search.)

2024-08-13 19:17:09

Think of business revenue like sustainable fishing. If you try to squeeze too much money out of your customers, you ruin the ecosystem and doom our future in the long term.

2024-08-05 03:28:27

Who thought it was a good idea to use AI to generate descriptions based on the names of the food items?
(And what does combo even mean)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/907/282/071/417/161/original/9be6f1c32233ff4f.jpeg

2024-08-02 01:26:35

Why make a Friend when a Boyfriend/Girlfriend would sell better
https://www.friend.com

2024-08-01 05:45:51

The village library burned down. I told the fisherman about it. He asked if it would affect his fishing. I said, probably not. He then continued with his day.

2024-07-26 01:38:25

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@npub1h2y…3lt2 surprise! It's Huawei's HarmonyOS Next, an OS that supposedly doesn't use any Android code

2024-07-26 01:30:47

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@npub1ytm…9he8 yep it's from China - Huawei to be exact

2024-07-26 01:27:43

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@npub12me…dzm3 close! It's Huawei not Xiaomi

2024-07-26 01:25:31

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It's Huawei's HarmonyOS Next. Here are corresponding iOS screens for comparison.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/850/179/061/168/272/original/ea089a110a50f5a0.jpeg

2024-07-25 22:18:02

Can you guess the operating system?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/849/424/278/907/026/original/c3cb6facb0cdd18a.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/849/424/280/468/112/original/cb7863f3623df9f2.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/849/424/274/001/601/original/46db5594afffadb7.jpeg

2024-07-21 08:11:57

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@npub14kc…2nl0 could you try installing AdGuard and switch to Vinegar Extract?

2024-07-21 07:46:38

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@npub14kc…2nl0 hmm, are you using other Safari extensions?

2024-07-21 07:29:48

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@npub14kc…2nl0 are you using an adblocker?

2024-07-20 02:19:48

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@npub1hf6…uxze I don't know… to make my app appears illegitimate, maybe?

2024-07-11 14:55:28

Design: Spam = Apple's code word for "we think you're just using the GBA4iOS code to make a new app."
The problem is the app reviewer doesn't know that Delta is the new official version of GBA4iOS.
https://mastodon.social/@rileytestut/112764887195459566

2024-07-03 10:01:25

Every time I decide to get serious about marketing, I see some marketer doing shit like this. How can I expect people to trust my cold emails in the future https://www.wisp.blog/blog/how-i-use-ai-agents-to-send-1000-personalized-email-for-outreach

2024-07-02 11:09:31

If bad code means technical debt, then using AI to write your code is like borrowing from a technical loan shark.

2024-06-25 13:31:42

we like to play pretend that the indie app business is like the farmers' market, but it's really just shopping malls

2024-06-12 18:05:02

Turns out people on Twitter and Threads are not very fond of Mastodon
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/604/964/125/132/968/original/56d7d85498e4448e.jpeg
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/604/964/136/139/617/original/1aa2035df74c5eaf.jpeg

2024-06-10 18:45:05

sigh

2024-06-10 18:24:36

Is this why Humane was in such a rush to ship their ai pin

2024-06-10 18:12:45

How it feels to get an AI email from a friend https://mrgan.com/ai-email-from-a-friend/

2024-05-27 14:20:46

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@npub1c5e…zwp2 probably not 😅 Baking Soda's changes are mostly cosmetic

2024-05-16 13:18:47

Translation:
> Westerners: The Japanese must be angry that the main character of Assassin's Creed is black!
> Japanese: OMG it's Yasuke! So cool!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/450/951/194/502/558/original/0dfd1ef91d43d79d.jpeg

2024-05-06 03:05:05

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I've turned off review notifications in App Store Connect. Now every day I ask myself if I'm ready to read the reviews. So far, the answer has been 'no'. This has been going on for two weeks.

2024-05-06 03:00:52

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@npub1z9l…4trf seeing this on DF reminded me of Gruber Fett
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/391/908/624/920/802/original/ea32a41e12b98593.png

2024-05-06 02:08:45

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@npub1z9l…4trf seeing this on your website reminded me of Gruber Fett
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/391/702/390/016/872/original/0908e001afe59583.png

2024-04-21 18:03:09

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@npub1vt7…kxtu 🥴

2024-04-21 18:02:39

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@npub1vh9…pr44 🤦🏻‍♂️

2024-04-21 17:48:52

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@npub129z…d05v can you try setting the video quality to Auto and see if it helps?

2024-04-21 17:46:49

Just checking the reviews of my apps and saw this. I… I can't even
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/310/454/571/342/922/original/f694c63d5b561b9c.jpeg

2024-04-19 13:30:49

My old iPhone got the stop-charging-at-80% feature for free (yay)
… because the room temperature here is too hot (oh no)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/298/125/798/925/184/original/fd20a6640aaed0f4.jpeg

2024-04-16 08:08:41

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@npub1978…jfne thank you!

2024-04-15 23:09:39

if you want to make a wearable product with a chatgpt voice interface, the bluetooth earbud form factor makes a lot more sense

2024-04-15 19:21:55

Gibberish Has Made It to the App Store https://zhenyi.gibber.blog/gibberish-has-made-it-to-the-app-store

2024-04-14 00:05:04

不識WW3真面目
只緣身在WW3中

2024-04-07 00:08:57

Ran into a problem when creating a new Rails app. These generic gem names really make it impossible to search for solutions.
(The gem's name is 'debug' and its version is 1.9.2, which is also a common Ruby version number.)
(In the end, I just commented out that gem in the Gemfile.)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/226/999/506/594/208/original/17ec809ce577466e.jpeg

2024-03-31 16:40:04

Context: An alleged AI-generated image won an art competition in Taiwan.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/191/284/116/267/309/original/c2b6905563fc288a.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/191/286/524/463/357/original/54362a2ac3388eca.png

2024-03-28 20:27:49

I think Microsoft is dumbing down Copilot to upsell Copilot Pro
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/175/194/096/733/027/original/a8ff3d79d08bb6f9.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/175/194/690/696/675/original/0a5cf41918ffe6ca.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/175/195/210/909/929/original/22daebf7fd49aea2.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/175/195/975/207/331/original/27cb3e2eb2d64c41.png

2024-03-28 19:25:53

Did Microsoft make copilot dumber to upsell copilot pro
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/174/949/395/957/971/original/71fdd7be06d4d735.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/174/950/580/407/157/original/f9e646317cfd60bf.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/174/951/297/503/766/original/3749d3d48d411fd9.png
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/174/951/898/060/816/original/308fcaf618ca14bd.png

2024-03-27 09:23:11

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@npub10tt…s7q7 Congrats on the move to Osaka!

2024-03-25 14:04:09

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@npub16uw…wtsg 😨

2024-03-23 05:18:34

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@npub1v0y…h5pz 🍀🍀🍀

2024-03-21 17:20:03

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@npub176d…x085 after seeing what happened to Epic, I'm actually not keen on "running to the press". I'm scared of the potential retaliations. 😬

2024-03-21 16:52:00

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@npub1q0g…xj3s do you mean providing a test account for the app reviewer? Yes, I have done that.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/112/134/711/308/319/163/original/f20739cc1cdbc39a.jpeg

2024-03-21 16:35:17

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On the bright side, this delay means I'll be extending the beta testing period of Gibberish for another month. And I'll be accepting a new batch of beta testers soon.

2024-03-21 16:34:29

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Just to clarify, users can't sign up for an account within the app. The sign-in screen says, "If you want to publish your posts on the web, sign up for a Gibberish account using a web browser." There are no links or buttons prompting users to pay within the app. It should qualify as a "Free Stand-alone App" as per section 3.1.3(f) of the App Store guidelines.
And it's not "you download the app and it doesn't work," because even without an account, you can still use it as a note-taking app.

2024-03-21 16:30:53

Welp, it looks like Gibberish's launch will be delayed a bit. No matter what I say, I can't seem to get the App Review team to approve the app without adding in-app purchases.
Does this mean free companion apps to a paid web service are no longer allowed in the App Store?

2024-03-20 17:08:37

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@npub1vk5…nw9l I made a native Gmail app 12 years ago. Someone didn't like it and wrote a 500-word bad review that detailed every minor issue they had with my app. It was so harsh and hurt so much that I took down the app, deleted the website, and stopped making apps for 10 years.

2024-03-20 09:04:20

Good Ramen in Singapore https://zhenyi.gibber.blog/good-ramen-in-singapore

2024-02-19 12:34:01

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@npub1sy6…5dxr The worst part is that after a few hours of spelunking, you realize Waldo doesn't exist 🤷🏻‍♂️

2024-02-14 14:14:49

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@npub1jc6…7v67 Reordering isn't hard per se. I think it would be straightforward to implement if my app were a UIKit app. The problem is that I'm using SwiftUI. 😅

2024-02-14 13:10:15

Implementing the reordering of chat bubbles in Gibberish. Got the easier part (jiggle mode) working.
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/929/996/403/961/695/original/0096ac9a0bb8ce59.mp4

2024-02-08 08:59:11

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@npub1jc6…7v67 if they want to stick to using only black and white, they should either flip the button styles, or remove the border on the disabled buttons.

2024-02-04 11:48:36

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@npub1jc6…7v67 I like how the person phrased it as ‘#Phanpy has evolved again’ since Phanpy is a Pokémon.

2024-01-23 22:04:50

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@npub1p9k…865w Is injecting JavaScript an option? If so, you could try something like this:
`
mp = document.querySelector('#movie_player');
width = mp.getPlayerResponse().streamingData.formats[0].width;
height = mp.getPlayerResponse().streamingData.formats[0].height;
// width/height is the aspect ratio
`

2023-10-29 14:49:45

Youtube’s Anti-adblock and uBlock Origin
Recently, YouTube has been ramping up its anti-adblock effort, and I’ve been watching this closely due to personal interest. This blog post is where I write down what I know.
https://andadinosaur.com/youtube-s-anti-adblock-and-ublock-origin