Jan 16, 2024 11:07:00

A problem occurs where the loading speed of YouTube decreases, the cause is the ad blocker 'Adblock Plus'

Although there are almost no problems with online games or other browsing, there have been reports online that loading times are slow, especially when watching YouTube. YouTube has recently moved

to restrict ad blockers , so there was some speculation that new regulations had been put in place, but in reality, this problem occurs when using version 3.22 of the ad blocker Adblock Plus. I found out that it was a glitch.

Youtube started slowing video buffer with adblock enabled : r/youtube
https://www.reddit.com/r/youtube/comments/195octe/youtube_started_slowing_video_buffer_with_adblock/

YouTube appears to be reducing video and site performance for ad-block users | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/01/youtube-appears-to-be-reducing-video-and-site-performance-for-ad-block-users/

Decrease in YouTube loading speed has been reported since around January 14, 2024. Mr. NightMean, who posted the problem on the social bulletin board site Reddit, has released a video showing that the loading progress is different when Adblock Plus is enabled and disabled.

Youtube started slowing video buffer with adblock enabled
by u/NightMean in youtube

News site 9to5Google confirmed this phenomenon in their own environment. He said that the cause was that YouTube had inserted code that caused an artificial timeout.

YouTube is slowing down for users with ad blockers in new wave
https://9to5google.com/2024/01/13/youtube-new-wave-slow-downs-ad-blocker/

YouTube took measures to block Adblock Plus in October 2023, so it was speculated that they had taken new ad blocker measures this time as well.

YouTube starts blocking 'Adblock Plus' which erases advertisements, causing chaos, Adblock Plus official also starts responding - GIGAZINE

However, it is known that the problem that is occurring this time is caused by Adblock Plus. As of January 12, 2024, the GitLab page reports that performance has decreased after updating Adblock Plus to 3.22.

Users reporting slow performance after updating to Version 3.22 (#1576) · Issue · Adblock inc / Extensions / Adblock Plus / adblockplusui · GitLab
https://gitlab.com/adblockinc/ext/adblockplus/adblockplusui/-/issues/1576

According to developer Thomas Greiner, when improving the content filter of EWF, Adblock Plus' ad filtering engine, it appears that a bug occurred that caused problems with dynamic websites.

Users reporting slow performance after updating to Version 3.22 (#1576) · Issue · Adblock inc / Extensions / Adblock Plus / adblockplusui · GitLab
https://gitlab.com/adblockinc/ext/adblockplus/adblockplusui/-/issues/1576#note_1725604837

This issue does not affect users of other ad blockers.