Is YouTube loading very slowly? Ad blockers are to blame, says Google

This is not your browser. YouTube intentionally delays session loading times for users who are still using ad blockers. Some people reported there is a delay of approximately five seconds when playing videos on the platform. Google has now confirmed that this is a measure to “support” its creator ecosystem.

“We have made efforts to encourage viewers who have ad blocking enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium to access ad-free content,” a company spokesperson said. Android authority. “Users who have ad blockers installed “They may experience a suboptimal browsing experience no matter what browser they use.”

Several users reported on Reddit that the delay occurred in browsers such as Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge. There were rumors that YouTube was testing the restriction. in browsers other than Chrome. However, this issue was removed in the explanation of the video portal. In fact, the most recent evidence indicates that the delay will also occur in Google’s software.

In late October, YouTube confirmed it was expanding efforts to limit the use of ad blockers worldwide. Since mid-year, testing of various options has begun, such as rolling out warnings about this type of extension in some countries. But since October, the tech company has expanded its strategy to more territories and defined a four-stage detection system that ends with the player being blocked.

YouTube users resist ditching ad blockers

YouTube pushes to ban ad blockers violates their terms of use. And watching ads or subscribing to YouTube Premium is what ultimately supports the work of its creators.

But the public did not like this strategy at all. Reddit is full of posts rejecting the measures taken by YouTube. Some are even calling to boycott the platform and subscribe to alternative services.

Alexander Hanff, an online privacy rights advocate, has already lodged a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). While YouTube claims it’s about complying with its terms of service, the activist claims the company is breaking European law by using spyware to detect whether people have a blocker active.

Hanff believes Google is following the same pattern as BlockAdBlock by not asking for explicit consent to conduct this review. Sites like YouTube you can detect ad blockers by downloading a code snippet which checks to see if anything on the page has changed or if elements required for the ad to load are blocked. According to the activist, the terms of use of the video portal do not directly prohibit ad blocking extensions, as the company claims.

As YouTube steps up its crackdown on ad blockers, extensions continue to be updated to try to combat them. For example, the uBlock Origin subreddit has posted several new tutorials on how to bypass the restriction. However, They are not always effective.because Google changes scenarios that detect ad-free browsing extensions.