YouTube might be deliberately slowing down your videos-and it’s not because of your internet speed. The platform seems to have quietly ramped up its fight against ad blockers, with many users reporting noticeable delays when trying to play videos while an ad blocker is active. 
Across forums like Reddit, a growing number of threads have emerged, claiming videos are now slower to load when ad blockers are enabled, raising suspicions that YouTube is intentionally throttling playback for those using these tools.
A particularly active thread on YouTube’s subreddit attracted over 200 comments from users sharing similar experiences. According to the original poster, clicking on a video while an ad blocker is enabled causes a noticeable delay, followed by a message that reads: ‘Experiencing interruptions? Find out why.’ The lag seems to only appear when ad blockers are in use, with some users reporting a blank screen that can last several seconds before playback finally begins.
If you click the ‘Find out why’ link, it takes you to a Google support page that lays the blame on browser extensions, including ad blockers, as the cause of the interruptions. Some users initially thought that this issue only affected logged-in accounts known to use ad blockers, but others have since reported similar issues even when logged out and using YouTube anonymously.
This wouldn’t be the first time YouTube has used playback delays as a way to combat ad blocking. Back in 2023, YouTube admitted to rolling out slowdowns on certain browsers that detected ad blockers. Over time, this practice expanded to all major browsers, and YouTube even started showing pop-up messages restricting video playback unless users disabled their ad blockers or subscribed to YouTube Premium for an ad-free experience.
YouTube has long held that advertising supports creators and helps keep the platform free. As Google stated 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.’ The platform has not yet confirmed whether these recent slowdowns are part of that ongoing strategy. Android Central reached out to YouTube for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
From my perspective, it’s becoming increasingly evident that YouTube is tightening its stance on ad-blocking behavior. While this may be frustrating for some users, it’s important to recognize that creators also benefit more from Premium subscriptions than standard ad views, which adds another layer of complexity to the debate.