Google acknowledges that YouTube’s battle with ad blockers is producing” suboptimal viewing” experiences.

When trying to load a video on YouTube, some users who prefer Firefox or Edge to Chrome have said they have to wait for about five seconds each time. Users demonstrate how their screen briefly goes blank when they click on a YouTube video before the page loads in screen recordings posted on Reddit and other online forums. However, that waiting period did n’t seem to exist when they switched to Chrome. The phenomenon was not replicated by 404media or Android Authority, which both reported on user complaints. Additionally, we did n’t observe any variations in YouTube loading times between browsers.

The delays are being caused by an anti-adblocker mechanism that YouTube has implemented, according to the code discovered by some YCombinator and Reddit posters. The fragment of code mentioned in those threads was discovered, but its purpose is unclear. Google acknowledged that it had put in place a system designed to persuade users to uninstall their advertising blockers when it claimed to have provided Android Authority. No matter what browser they choose to use, users who have installed ad blockers “may experience suboptimal viewing,” according to the company.

We’ve launched an effort to persuade viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium for an advertising-free experience, according to the spokesperson, in order to support an inclusive ecosystem of creators worldwide and enable billions to access their favorite YouTube content. Regardless of the browser they are using, users who have ad blockers installed may see suboptimal content.

Ad blockers were first criticized by YouTube earlier this year, but it was only recently that it made it impossible for users to watch videos unless they turned off their apps, add-ons, and extensions. The website that hosts videos hopes to persuade users to sign up for its$ 14 per month YouTube Premium service if they ca n’t stand to watch ads. Since then, several ad-blocking companies have reported seeing an increase in uninstallations per day, but Google has n’t said whether this has also increased YouTube Premium subscriptions.