Yahoo Is Blocking Email For Users Blocking Ads

Users who have an ad blocker installed into their browser are having trouble accessing Yahoo Mail.

The online ad business is flourishing with the increasing use of Internet across the world. Web publishers want their ads viewed by a wider audience, and they are also trying to find new ways of getting around ad blockers installed on desktops and mobile devices. Some websites deny access to their content if a user disables ads.

Now, it seems that Yahoo is also planning to adopt the same strategy. Several Yahoo Mail users report that they have been unable to access their email because their web browser has an active ad blocker.

A user has complained about the issue on an Adblock Plus forum, posting a screenshot to confirm that Yahoo restricted access to Yahoo Mail to web browsers with an ad blocker.

"We are unable to display Yahoo Mail. Please disable Ad Blocker to continue using Yahoo Mail," revealed a screenshot of the error message.

The problem seems to be persistent on Google Chrome as well as Mozilla Firefox.

"I'm a Firefox user having the same problem. The above error message started popping up today, and pops up even after disabling Adblock Plus," complained a user on Adblock Plus. "My temporary fix was to close Firefox and sign into Yahoo Mail using Internet Explorer (a browser I rarely use, and to which I've added no extensions)."

A Yahoo representative has confirmed that some sort of testing is being conducted by the company.

"At Yahoo, we are continually developing and testing new product experiences. This is a test we're running for a small number of Yahoo Mail users in the U.S.," the spokesperson said.

Andrei Herasimchuk, a former Yahoo designer, has also shared his discontent over Yahoo's actions.

Restricting Yahoo Mail access to those who use an ad blocker could result in email users leaving Yahoo Mail and signing up with other providers.