Google’s online video service has responded after many users started complaining about a 5-second delay when loading YouTube videos on Firefox and Edge browsers but is normal on Chrome.
According to Android Authority, YouTube explained the issue was related to ad blockers and not browsers, saying it was an effort to “encourage viewers to allow ads.”
The company added: “To support the diverse ecosystem of creators around the world and give billions of users access to the content they love on YouTube, we’re trying to encourage Viewers who block ads to turn it off to allow ads if they want the free experience or use YouTube Premium if they don’t want ads to show. Users with an ad blocker installed may experience limitations regardless of their use.
YouTube believes that users must accept a 5-second delay when watching videos online if they do not allow ads or subscribe to the Premium package.
Recently, YouTube has begun to fight more harshly with ad blockers. In June 2023, the service began testing preventing users from watching videos if they turned on an ad blocker. If users ignore these warnings for the three videos, they will not be allowed to watch the videos again until the ad blocker is turned off. Earlier this month, the company began a global effort to crack down on ad blockers and encourage users to allow ads or pay for a Premium plan.
This YouTube effort is facing a legal challenge when data protection expert Alexander Hanff filed a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) claiming that the service’s ad blocker detection system breach violates user privacy and is illegal.
