YouTube might slow down videos if you use ad-blockers

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Credit: Photo by Silas Stein/picture alliance via Getty Images

It may not be your imagination — YouTube might be slowing down your videos if you use an ad-blocker.

PCWorld spotted new rumors floating online on Reddit and elsewhere that folks using ad-blockers are seeing throttled speeds.

Now, to be clear, this has not been confirmed. But it's far from the first time folks have felt this way. Early last year, for instance, users saw degraded quality and performance when using an ad-blocker, which YouTube ultimately said was not its doing.

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This go-round, users have reported seeing a pop-up message reading, "Experiencing interruptions?" That message reportedly led to a page which indicated ad-blockers could affect video playback. Still, this is not full confirmation that YouTube is slowing down your videos if you use an ad-blocker.

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Mashable has reached out to YouTube for comment and will update the story if we receive a response.

Ads are obviously a major way YouTube brings in revenue and using a blocker is against its terms of service. Just this month it ramped-up the number of ads for users who pay $7.99 per month for its Premium Lite service.

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Associate Editor, Culture

Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).

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