Google is claiming that users of its popular ad-blocking extension are falsely blaming YouTube for slow video streaming speeds, and that the content filter itself is to blame for stuttering playback.
The extensions in question are Adblock Plus, a popular browser add-on for zapping ads before they appear, and the related AdBlock.
Last year, YouTube policy to oppose Making ad blocking more visible by displaying a dialog box during video playback to prompt users to disable filtering software is the prime suspect in this recent drama. It might have been helpful.
In November 2023, the Google-owned video streaming site confirmed that: register The company intentionally imposed page loading delays on users who viewed YouTube while running ad blocking extensions.
Reports at the time said that some users who did not use the Block extension also experienced loading delays. In response, Google suggested that these issues were likely a cache issue for users who had previously disabled the active block extension, and that a full reload of the webpage would resolve the issue. .
The proposal comes shortly after privacy activist Alexander Hanff filed a complaint in Ireland accusing YouTube of violating European privacy law by running ad blocker detection scripts without explicit consent. The complaint remains unresolved.
register The Irish Data Protection Commission has approved Meta’s ‘payment or consentIf a Facebook/Instagram user decides not to pay a subscription fee, they consent to the use of their data.” Policy is legal.
Given YouTube’s stance on ad blockers, it’s perhaps to be expected that users would post to Adblock Plus. Support page And to reddit It blamed Google’s streaming service for its dismal video performance, which appears to have launched about a week ago.
Netizens complained that videos were taking a long time to buffer, causing playback to stutter, and that this was YouTube’s deliberate retaliation against ad blockers.
However, contrary to some opinions, YouTube claims it is not responsible. Recent coverage of the problem.
“Recent reports that users are experiencing loading delays on YouTube are unrelated to our ad blocker detection efforts,” a Google spokesperson said. register in a statement sent via email. “our Help center Provide troubleshooting tips for users experiencing issues. ”
Raymond Hill, creator of the open source ad blocking extension uBlock Origin (which is immune to slowdowns), acknowledged as much on social media over the weekend. thread Please note that you can trace the cause of the reported issue. bug With Adblock Plus 3.22 and AdBlock 5.17.
Although the two tools share a name (not camelcased spelling), Separate but related projects it’s both Owned by Io, an ad filtering company that makes money by not blocking so-called “Acceptable Ads” for a fee. The Germany-based business has been run since 2022 by Frank Einecke, former Google managing director of global marketing partners. said In November 2023, ad blocking is expected to cost publishers $54 billion in 2024.
Hill said the performance issues affecting the two browser add-ons extend beyond YouTube, and when users use multiple ad blocking extensions, they can interfere with each other and increase the use of computer resources. and may get worse.
The bug was removed as follows. 3.22.1 Adblock Plus Release and 5.17.1 AdBlock Release.
Not surprisingly, Hill recommends the free uBlock Origin over alternative block extensions based on resource usage. This has been a long-standing problem with extensions, and Google cites it as a reason to justify rewriting his Manifest v3 architecture.
Even with modified versions of Adblock Plus and AdBlock (which use the same injected script), he Said,”[AdBlock’s] Scripts injected into YouTube still account for more than 20 percent of CPU usage. ” compared to just 1 percent for uBlock Origin.
Another reason to avoid Adblock Plus and AdBlock, Hill claimed last month, is that they both fake progress bar To encourage users of free extensions to purchase paid versions.
Io did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Hill observed that this bug appears to be the result of code refactoring done to make the extension work in Manifest v3. His bug-hit Adblock Plus 3.22 release specifically mentions that the update “introduces critical differential filter list updates to continue providing frequent updates to filter lists in Manifest v3.”
Once Google phases out its legacy extension architecture, possibly starting in June 2024 with the launch of Manifest v3, uBlock Origin is expected to cease functioning. A less capable version, i.e. uBlock Origin Lite Already works in manifest v3. ®