YouTube is facing complaints from users running ad blockers as they claim the site is being deliberately slowed down. Several users took to Reddit to express their frustration, with one even sharing a video that showed videos on YouTube pausing and taking longer to load when an ad blocker was enabled.

The issues reported by users were not limited to slow loading times. Some users also experienced problems with full-screen mode not working properly, while others noted that their Chrome browser was unable to load other webpages while YouTube was open.

YouTube has been actively trying to combat ad blockers in the past. The video-sharing platform has used tactics such as pop-up messages and delays in site loads to deter users from using ad blockers. However, it remains unclear whether these recent slowdowns are intentional or unintentional.

A bug report published by Adblock Plus, a popular ad blocker, seems to suggest that the slowdowns could be unintentional. The bug report acknowledges “performance issues” introduced by the latest version of Adblock Plus, version 3.22. A fix is expected in the upcoming version, 3.22.1.

This is not the first time YouTube has experienced issues with ad blockers, which has led to confusion among users. Some users in the Reddit thread expressed their confusion and even contemplated reinstalling their Chrome browser, believing that the problem was related to their internet connection.

To provide additional information, Adblock Plus’ bug report and a statement from Raymond Hill, the developer behind uBlock Origin, were added to the Reddit post. The post was last updated on January 15th at 4:20 pm ET.

As YouTube continues to grapple with ad blockers, users are advised to keep an eye out for updates from Adblock Plus and ensure that they have the latest version installed to potentially avoid any performance issues on the platform.