Slow YouTube Issues: What Is Google Up To?

What Is In The News?

YouTube is taking a longer time to display videos on Internet Browsers like Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. Initially, this unexpected delay in streaming videos was observed on all browsers other than the in-house browser i.e. Chrome. However, several reports from late last night and early this morning claim that the Chrome browser has also noticed the 5-second delay.

The first thing that comes to our mind is why the delay is happening. There are always two sides of the coin. So let us discuss both sides and we will also list excerpts from the observations across the globe as to what we think and why.

What Is The Reason For The YouTube Delayed Load Times?

Money!!! YouTube is set to make money and increase its revenue like all other corporate giants. And how does YouTube make money? Well, it is quite simple! Through Ads and YouTube Premium. So, either you pay YouTube for its Premium membership and avoid the ads or you watch the compulsory repeated ads again and again (till it brainwashes you into buying something) along with your desired content.

Some tech-savvy enthusiasts use ad blocker extensions along with their browsers that help block and prevent ads while streaming YouTube on their browsers. In other words, you do not need to buy the Premium membership and can still block the ads. This would indirectly affect the revenue of YouTube as the count of ads viewed reduces.

Now, YouTube cannot block viewers from streaming videos on Internet Browsers (although we think such a condition might occur in the future), so the next best thing is to create some sort of interruptions, delays, loading issues, etc. to shift people from browsers to the YouTube App. And once you start using the app, you have to either view the complete ads or buy the Premium subscription. In simple terms, YouTube is laying a trap and limiting options to view YouTube.

When Did The YouTube Delay Start?

The ‘5-second delay on Firefox’ reports started coming three days ago when techies and YouTube users flooded tech forums like Reddit and more. Shortly, Edge users made similar claims where YouTube took a few seconds to populate the page with the website elements before the streaming actually began. This delay was observed every time a YouTube link was opened with any browser other than Chrome. Since then there have been many complaints regarding this issue. And quite recently, many Chrome users have been complaining of facing the same issue of delay in loading files.

Also Read: YouTube Account Hacked? Here’s How To Recover It

What Is YouTube’s Official Statement On The Delay?

YouTube has yet to make any comments in this regard. However, last week, an official statement from Google did mention that certain changes in the Chrome browser would be implemented in 2024 under Manifest V2. One major change would be to disable extensions such as Ad Blockers. YouTube is also in a massive global crackdown on apps and extensions that function as ad blockers. It claims that these extensions violate the company’s terms of service policy.

Also Read: How to Bypass YouTube TV Location with a VPN

YouTube Delays – The Other Side Of The Story.

There is another less probable side of the YouTube delay story that does not portray YouTube as a money-making mastermind. It is quite possible that the number of YouTube viewers has expanded exponentially due to the improvement of internet services worldwide. This could have caused the delay and buffering while streaming videos. Another possible reason for the delay could be that YouTube is carrying out some sort of Server maintenance or changes which has resulted in this delay and will be resolved shortly.

We will have to wait and see if the issue is resolved automatically or if we all have to buy YouTube Premium soon. Because it is already quite bothersome to watch YouTube with unskippable ads, let alone wait 5 seconds for the videos to load every time.

Also Read: How To Record Anything On YouTube TV With High-Quality?

What Can We Do To Avoid YouTube Load Delays?

Other than purchasing the YouTube Premium Subscription there are a few steps that a few experts have recommended to try out. We are still not sure if these steps will work because the problem is not yet identified. But you can still try out and share your comments below:

Step 1: Uninstall Ad Blocker Extensions from your browser.

Step 2: Clear Browser Cookies and Cache.

Step 3: Uninstall & Reinstall Browser.

You need to check if the YouTube delay persists before carrying out the next step.

Note: With a recent statement from Google implying that ad-blocking extensions may be the reason the website loads slowly for users of all browsers, YouTube appears to be stepping up its crackdown on ad blockers.

Also Read: How to Fix YouTube Error Loading Subscriptions

What Do You Think About Slow YouTube And Delay Issues?

That was our take on slow YouTube and delay issues. If you agree with us then drop in a comment in favor of our views. If you think differently then we would like to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. You can also find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.