YouTube Reportedly Sluggish For AdBlock Users After Higher CPU Usage

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Abiyan

At Tech4gamers, I cover all sorts of gaming news. Whether it’s a leak of any upcoming game or an update, an announcement, or a rumour, I like to write about it all. Over the weekend, I sit and write features where I talk about games that I miss or want to see return.

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Updated:

As of AdBlock version 5.17.1 and AdBlock Plus version 3.22.1, this issue has been fixed. The team at eyeo has confirmed that the updates are available for most browsers, including Opera, Edge, Chrome, and Mozilla.

They are also monitoring the situation for any further issues, with the engineers ready to provide more updates if needed.

Original Story:

YouTube is the biggest platform for video streaming. With around 2 billion monthly users, the platform is home to thousands of creators relying on ad revenue to keep things afloat.

However, users are not fond of watching ads. Not only do these ads interrupt the streaming experience, but they can also contain inappropriate content. This has led to users relying on AdBlock extensions, but YouTube recently started a crackdown against such programs.

New reports claim users with AdBlock extensions are now experiencing higher CPU usage while browsing the platform.

Why it matters: YouTube has begun to enforce stricter rules for AdBlock users in the past, hoping to bring more people over to Premium subscriptions.

Youtube started slowing video buffer with adblock enabled
byu/NightMean inyoutube

One person recently took to Reddit and posted a video showing that YouTube videos are slowing down when Adblock is enabled. The thread has received much attention, with many claiming to face the same issue.

One comment stated:

“And I thought there was something wrong with my internet connection.”

Even YouTube Premium owners using AdBlock for other applications face a similar issue on the platform. Further investigations into the matter have revealed these instances are caused by spikes in CPU usage. Another Redditor added:

“This messes up the resources on the computer as a whole. It just kills chrome it seems.”

PCGamer, who tested these rumors and confirmed their validity, claims that modern CPUs might not be impacted much by this uneven spike. However, lower-end laptops can experience various problems, causing heating issues in extreme scenarios.

This seems to be the case since many Reddit users have corroborated the information. Therefore, the issue appears to be more widespread than initially expected.

While many were quick to point fingers at YouTube after this debacle, communication manager Christopher Lawton has responded, stating that YouTube has nothing to do with it. He said:

“loading delays experienced by AdBlock and AdBlock Plus users are not caused by our detection efforts.”

However, with YouTube’s past efforts, there is reason to be suspicious about this statement. The culprit may be a bug in the extensions themselves, but we expect to learn more about this situation as the story develops.

Whatever the case may be, we hope this issue is quickly resolved since constant buffering and stuttering during videos can be troublesome, especially when your internet is not to blame.

Abiyan

[News Reporter]

Abiyan is on track to complete his Computer Science bachelor’s degree. His enthusiasm for writing and gaming motivates him to keep readers and gamers updated with the latest information from the industry. In his free time, Abiyan enjoys playing Dota 2 and Rocket League. Abiyan has also been cited in reputed websites such as Kitguru, Comicbook, GamingBible, Eurogamer and Gamingbolt.