After much speculation and fury, the search engine giant finally spoke up about the so-called “artificial wait.” A few users have been facing delays on YouTube. There is a 5-second wait, which is easily visible in the YouTube code. This has been implemented to punish those who have used Youtube ad blocker. It has affected all browsers and is not experienced just by Firefox users.
YouTube Ad Blocker -More about the 5-Second Odd Video Delay
In mid-November, some YouTube users started encountering odd video delays. On November 19th, controversy began when a Reddit user accused YouTube of the same. The user complained of the slow artificial loading time in Firefox. Soon, people found logic, and that was a delay in loading time in Firefox. However, the delay was only observed in Firefox, and if you switched to another browser, like Chrome, the problem could be solved.
However, before the search giant Google commented on the issue, the five-second delay was related to ad blocker. When asked about the delay, Google said it applied only to those with ad blockers installed. These users are subjected to suboptimal viewing irrespective of their browser.
A Crackdown
For the past few months, YouTube has seen cracking down on ad blockers. The objective is to ensure that customers subscribe to YouTube Premium. The cost of this service is $13.99 per month, which also includes a YouTube membership. As such, it is being ascertained that the 5-second video delay is a way to ensure that the ads play well.
However, switching browsers resolves the problem since it refreshes the web page. Once restored, YouTube is not required to serve an advertisement, so it does not execute the 5-second delay again.
A Simple Trick Related to YouTube Adblocker
This is a trick from Google. Ad blocker services can be solved with a simple filter, but Google is looking for innovative ways to discourage ad blocker users. Also, the amount you pay for the YouTube Premium subscription might be worth the money.
Overseeing the entire episode, it may be recalled that in 2018, Google intentionally minimized YouTube performance on non-Chrome browsers. So, not much can be said about the YouTube Ad blocker instances this time.
