YouTube might be slowing down your videos, and it’s not your internet
Multiple reports suggest YouTube is quietly throttling playback speeds for users running ad blockers
YouTube may have quietly stepped up its fight against ad blockers, and many users say they’ve noticed the effects. A growing number of posts on Reddit and other forums claim that videos now take longer to start when an ad blocker is active, raising suspicions about deliberate slowdowns.
A recent thread on YouTube’s subreddit, featured more than 200 comments from users sharing similar experiences. According to the original poster, clicking a video with an ad blocker enabled triggers a delay, followed by a prompt that reads: "Experiencing interruptions? Find out why." The lag appears to only happen when ad blockers are active, with some users describing a black screen that lasts for several seconds before playback begins.
YouTube is allegedly slowing down the connection to the platform for accounts using ad blockers. | Image credit — u/One-Celebration-3007 (Reddit)
Clicking the "Find out why" button reportedly leads users to a Google support page that blames possible interruptions on browser extensions, such as ad blockers. While some initially believed this issue was limited to logged-in accounts known for using ad blockers, other reports suggest even anonymous users are being affected.
This wouldn’t be the first time YouTube has used playback performance as part of its effort to deter ad blocking. Back in 2023, YouTube confirmed it had rolled out slowdowns in certain browsers when ad blockers were detected. That rollout eventually expanded to affect all major browsers. In the same year, the company began showing pop-up messages that restricted video playback unless users disabled their ad blockers or signed up for YouTube Premium.
YouTube’s long-standing position is that advertising helps support creators and keeps the platform free. As Google said in 2023, "To support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favorite content on YouTube, we’ve launched an effort to urge viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience."
The platform has not yet confirmed if these new slowdown reports are the result of another phase in that strategy. Android Central reached out to YouTube for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
From my point of view, it’s becoming increasingly clear that YouTube will continue to tighten its grip on ad-blocking behavior. While this may frustrate some users, it's worth noting that creators also benefit more from Premium subscribers than standard ad views, which complicates the debate.
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