YouTube has recently implemented measures to discourage the use of ad blockers, causing a new wave of slowdowns for users. The primary resolutions to this issue involve either disabling the ad blocker or opting for a premium subscription.
Over the years, users have turned to ad blockers as a way to combat the increasing frequency of ads on YouTube. However, YouTube considers this practice a violation of its terms of service, as pre-video ads contribute significantly to the platform’s revenue. The only alternative to avoiding ads without third-party applications is to subscribe to YouTube Premium.
YouTube is now actively discouraging ad blocker usage through pop-up messages that declare ad blockers as violations of its terms of service, prompting users to disable them before continuing to watch videos. Additionally, a new tactic involves deliberately slowing down the entire site when an ad blocker is detected, referred to as “suboptimal viewing.”
Users on Reddit have reported experiencing sudden lagginess and unresponsiveness on YouTube, attributing it to the use of ad blockers. Disabling the ad blocker immediately resolves the issue, revealing an artificial timeout implemented in YouTube’s code to simulate a slow internet connection.
Despite YouTube’s actions, it claims that the latest browser slowdowns are unrelated to its ad blocker detection. According to statements from YouTube to Android Central, the slowdowns are not a result of their intentional actions. Instead, the popular ad blocker AdBlock has identified a bug in its latest updates as the culprit for these slowdowns. The AdBlock team is actively working to fix the issue, responding to user reports of slowdowns not only on YouTube but also on other websites such as Google Translate and some Microsoft sites. Notably, developers of uBlockOrigin state that their ad blocker was apparently unaffected by these slowdowns.
