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.
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.
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.”
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.
