[timmg]

Ad blockers don't change that. They track you for recommendations and view counts and things like that either way.

I suppose you could watch Youtube in a new incognito window for every session. But I doubt that is what most ad-blockers-users are doing.

[Nextgrid]

The problem is that subscribing to YT Premium requires a Google account (with valid personal data - fake details won't work for payment processing), where as "freeloading" with an ad-blocker allows you to stay more anonymous without even signing in (and clearing cookies every time).