YouTube “lags” due to Ad-block

The latest update to the popular ad-blocking extensions, Adblock and Adblock Plus, has been causing significant performance issues on YouTube.

The Issue

Users of these ad-blocking extensions have reported lagging videos and overall poor loading performance. A video with an ad blocker enabled can’t load quickly and causing it to pause at around 30 seconds. Turning off the ad blocker immediately improves loading performance.

In addition to this, users have reported that the ad-block detection causes strange issues, like “lag”. That makes full screen or comments do not work. Also, Chrome being unable to load other webpages while YouTube is open.

The Cause

The root cause of the performance issues on YouTube with Adblock and Adblock Plus appears to be tied to the extension engine’s version 1.1.1. This version was incorporated into Adblock version 5.17.0 and Adblock Plus version 3.22.

The extension engine is a crucial part of these ad-blocking extensions, and it seems that all extensions using this engine. ABP, AdBlock, and the EWE test extension, experienced similar issues with the 1.1.1 version.

The issue has now been fixed with the latest eyeo’s Web Extension Ad Blocking Toolkit (EWE) version 1.1.2, where the breaking change has been reverted. Therefore, if you are one of those users who is experiencing issues with Adblock and Adblock Plus, update your extension. It is also advised not to run multiple content filters or adblockers on your browser if you are facing performance issues.

The Response

In response to these issues, Adblock Plus has published a bug report covering “performance issues” introduced by version 3.22. And, confirms things should be fixed in version 3.22.1. uBlock Origin developer Raymond Hill says the issue is limited to AdBlock Plus and its spinoffs and that blaming YouTube is “an incorrect diagnosis”.

Conclusion

While YouTube has previously used various tactics to get people to turn off ad blockers and subscribe to YouTube Premium. But they have stated that the latest video slowdowns aren’t part of its effort against ad-blockers. Regardless of whether this is due to the updated Adblock code, it’s not the first time this has happened with YouTube.

This incident serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between user experience and ad revenue in the digital age. As we wait for the fix in the next Adblock update, users are left to decide between enduring ads or dealing with performance issues.

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