Google continues its war on ad blockers by slowing down YouTube
Google really wants you to stop using ad blockers on YouTube
Update 01/17/24: The technology group eyeo, which is responsible for AdBlock and Adblock Plus, has reached out to The Shortcut with the following statement:
“AdBlock and Adblock Plus users have recently experienced a slow down in performance and a higher use of CPU when browsing on YouTube and other websites. Our engineering team fixed the problem and released ABP 3.22.1 and AB 5.17.1,” said Gertrud Kolb, Chief Technology Officer at eyeo.
”The new versions are already available in the Opera and Edge extension stores and are currently in review in the Mozilla and Chrome extension stores. This means the problem is solved and AdBlock and Adblock Plus users should not experience issues that are related to the fixed bug, as soon as their extension is updated to the new version. Our team will closely monitor the situation and is ready to make further adjustments should it become necessary.”
If you’re experiencing any YouTube slowdown when using either of these programs, please make sure you’ve updated to the latest versions.
Update 01/16/24: Google has denied slowing down YouTube for those using ad blockers. In a statement to Android Central, a YouTube spokesperson said this is not the case. “Recent reports of users experiencing loading delays on YouTube are unrelated to our ad blocker detection efforts. Our help center offers troubleshooting tips for users experiencing issues.”
Original story: Google is determined to stop people from using ad blockers on YouTube and has reportedly taken further steps to hamper the browsing experience on its popular video platform.
According to a post on Reddit, Google has chosen to simply slow down YouTube, with the only solution being to disable an ad blocker or upgrade to YouTube Premium. Multiple users have reported that YouTube is laggy and unresponsive when using an ad blocker but that the site works perfectly fine when it is disabled.
Google has previously implemented measures like a three-strike policy to dissuade people from using ad blockers, which let users only watch three videos if they have a program installed. But slowing down the entire site to make it practically unusable seems like the most extreme measure yet.
“It makes the whole site laggy,” one user wrote. “I can’t type a comment, load anything, but every other table on Chrome is normal, even other video streaming stuff like Twitch or Netflix. It’s kind of annoying. Just happened for the first time last night. Still not going to disable my adblock though.”
Ultimately, the search engine giant wants people to sign up for YouTube Premium for $13.99 for an ad-free experience, which is why Google has been waging a war on ad blockers for quite some time now.
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: YouTube ad blockers
✋ Google has introduced another new measure to stop people from using ad blockers
🤦♂️ Users have reported that the site becomes almost unusable, with lots of lag
👊 YouTube has been battling against the use of ad blockers for quite some time
💰 It wants users to sign up for YouTube Premium if they don’t want to sit through any ads
Ad blockers are often free and cleverly block out any intrusive adverts across websites and YouTube. Google has introduced more unskippable ads over the years, interrupting your chosen video and making using YouTube a frustrating and laborious experience to use.
Even though there are many benefits to YouTube Premium, like access to YouTube Music, the ability to download videos, and the removal of ads, Google’s latest move won’t go down well with those who regularly use ad blockers.
Like the majority of subscription services, YouTube Premium has slowly increased in price. Google announced a price hike in July last year, with a monthly subscription increasing from $11.99 to $13.99.
Thanks for this. I thought it was just me.