YouTube, owned by Google, clarified on Wednesday that the recent browser slowdown experienced by users is unrelated to the company’s efforts to detect ad-blockers.
Reports on Reddit suggested that YouTube intentionally slows down the site for users with ad-blockers enabled. However, YouTube stated that loading delays faced by Adblock and AdBlock Plus users are not a result of ad-blocker detection.
According to Origin developer Raymond Hill, performance issues are linked to the latest updates of Adblock and Adblock Plus extensions, an IANS report stated.
These issues affect not only YouTube but also other platforms. AdBlock acknowledged a bug in its recent updates causing the slowdown, and Eyeo, the team behind AdBlock, has reportedly fixed the problem with the release of ABP 3.22.1 and AB 5.17.1.
YouTube’s crackdown on ad-blocker users intensified globally last year, with users encountering warnings to disable ad-blockers or opt for a $14 YouTube Premium subscription. Despite recent browser slowdown concerns, YouTube maintains that it is not connected to ad-blocker detection efforts.