- YouTube is now slowing down video playback on other browsers.
- It confirmed that the delay is due to ad blockers.
- YouTube has been pushing users to pay for its subscription.
YouTube’s crackdown on ad blockers began earlier this year with the platform warning users against using it. Things got more serious later in June as it started disabling video playback if it detected any ad blocker. Now some users are reporting video playback slowing down on browsers other than Chrome.
YouTube slowing down video playback
YouTube is slowing down video playback by five seconds on its desktop website for Firefox and Edge users, according to a report by Android Authority. A video showing the YouTube video playback delay on Chrome was shared on Reddit. Here, we can see that there’s a five-second delay when you open a new video on YouTube. It might seem like your internet connectivity is slow but the Redditor played the same video on Chrome, and there was no delay.
The OP also highlights how it’s not a Firefox bug, and a deliberate action from Google saying that there’s a code in YouTube’s client JS that triggers the delay. Another Redditor replied saying that they’re facing the same delay on Brave. But the delay disappears if all extensions including ad blockers are turned off.
The reason behind the five-second delay is due to ad blockers, and YouTube confirmed this to Android Authority.
“To support a diverse ecosystem of creators globally and allow billions to access their favourite 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. Users who have ad blockers installed may experience suboptimal viewing, regardless of the browser they are using,” YouTube said.
So it looks like this is another way for YouTube to make people pay for its premium subscription. But it can also be considered as a way for the company to make people use Chrome since the delay doesn’t occur on Google’s browser. The Redditors sure seem frustrated with some finding a workaround, and others willing to tolerate the ads instead of paying YouTube. But it looks like Google is only going to get tougher on those ad blockers.
