YouTube blames ad blockers for slow load times, and it has nothing to do with your browser
https://www.androidauthority.com/youtube-blames-ad-blockers-slow-load-times-3387523/
https://www.androidauthority.com/youtube-blames-ad-blockers-slow-load-times-3387523/
27 Comments
DebatableRaccoon@lemmy.ca · 31 pts · 2y
When aren't those bastards blaming adblockers? Funny how the experience is only getting worse after YT themselves decide to intervene with something.
otter@lemmy.ca · 30 pts · 2y
But why does changing the user agent get rid of the problem?
MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 2y
Does it? My user agent is still Firefox (default Librewolf after switching on "Resist Fingerprinting"), and well, it doesn't affect me (also added the filter suggested on reddit).
otter@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 2y
I haven't explored it myself, but it might be a better test to change the useragent to chrome once it does affect you
I assume with A/B testing, the issue is only applied to a random set of users. So once it DOES affect you, toggle the useragent to see if it fixes it
MigratingtoLemmy@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 2y
Yeah right, as if I'll watch advertisements instead.
BTW, it didn't slow down for me at all on Librewolf, but after adding the filter suggested on Reddit, it seems just a hair faster.
otter@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 2y
Good to know, thank you :)
moormaan@lemmy.ca · 13 pts · 2y
YouTube is slow on my smart TV, and I'm a YT Premium subscriber. I call BS.
Ulrich_the_Old@lemmy.ca · 11 pts · 2y
Youtube is unwatchable without adblockers.
KrummsHairyBalls@lemmy.ca · 8 pts · 2y
I know I will be hated for my input, but I use Firefox, pay for YouTube Premium, and my load times are fast. My browser choice hasn't caused any slow experiences.
Not that I have to justify my purchase, but it's $25 CAD per month, and I split it between my 5 family members. $5 CAD for ad-free on all my platforms plus YouTube Music, PLUS more money going to creators (as confirmed by Technology Connections on YouTube), I am fine paying a few bucks. Content creators have to get paid, and I hate sitting through ads, so it's a win-win in my books. I also don't want to waste time using third party apps, using DNS adblocking, pihole, etc. just to get a decent experience across my devices.
I'm sure my opinion will be taken very respectfully on Lemmy.
ISOmorph@feddit.de · 12 pts · 2y
It's sad people feel obligated to write a wall of text to justify what the hell they're doing with their money. Yes google is shit. But paying for a service is still normal.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 5 pts · 2y
Please know that content creators get paid SIGNIFICANTLY less from Premium subscribers than they do from ads. If that's your reason for giving google $25, I think you should know.
I used to have Premium, but when I discovered that they were still serving me ads and using trackers, I cancelled.
FWIW, if you want to support content creators, a literal donation of $1 a year to your favourite ones will make them more money than your Premium subscription. I say this as someone with a 20k subscriber channel.
KrummsHairyBalls@lemmy.ca · -1 pts · 2y
No they don't. I literally said in the post you're replying to that Technology Connections confirmed YouTube premium pays more.
https://mas.to/@TechConnectify/111319895234933188
Pretty wild that you ignored my original comment to spread misinformation.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 3 pts · 2y
I don't know who "technology connections" is or whether they've posted screenshots of their revenue breakdown from YouTube, but I'm telling you from firsthand experience of operating a channel with tens of thousands of subscribers that Premium pays peanuts.
From my own YouTube Studio analytics, YT Premium represents 1.3% of my revenue over the last 365 days. Ads make up the rest of it.
In fact, it looks like an entire year of YT premium pays out less than a few days of ad revenue.
You might call it "misinformation", but I have no reason to lie as a content creator.
A single "Super Thanks" I received the other day paid out twice as much as the entire month of YT Premium revenue. That's why I say that donating a single dollar is considerably better than paying Google.
And from my own experience, as I mentioned, Google was still using trackers and showing ads (on my TV) when I had Premium.
You can believe it or not, but you can't accuse me of spreading misinformation.
EDIT: Here are some large channels posting their revenue screenshots:
1.8M subs (YT Premium earned no more than 14.8% of her total revenue, but it was usually <10%) : https://youtu.be/KkKYMD1KTw0?si=0mkQzstlyG8MlhKB&t=97
42k subs (ad revenue vs YT Premium at the bottom of the screen): https://youtu.be/FawckyZqCPU?si=z7Xc60DqnpBmCiES&t=686
135k subs (YT Premium revenue is shown quickly when he scrolls the page... $148 vs $5000 from ads): https://youtu.be/jY-Rf3HsvK8?si=YyqnpBPNpf9eo532&t=382
I can go on, but you get the point. I have NEVER seen a channel that would claim AND PROVE that YT Premium makes more money than ads.
KrummsHairyBalls@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 2y
I literally linked both Technology Connections and Linus Tech Tips.
KrummsHairyBalls@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 2y
Sorry, but I'm willing to believe a YouTuber with 2.1 million subscribers over a random Lemmy user who claims they have a YouTube channel.
You've also posted 0 proof of what you're saying, so we are just supposed to believe you? Inb4 you Photoshop some graphs.
Not to mention Linus Tech Tips did a video (if you don't know who that is, they have 15.4 million subscribers) where he literally says YouTube premium contributes WAY more than ads.
https://youtu.be/-zt57TWkTF4?si=UiE2IQejKJiYygUA
6:55
"YouTube premium, which for those wondering contributes WAY more to the channels that you watch than ads"
2 big creators say premium pays more than ads, Mr tens of thousands of subscribers.
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 2y
I posted three links from content creators of various sizes posting their analytics dashboard.
Really old video, but you can clearly see that YT Premium is only 18% of their revenue vs 81% from Ads. He hasn't proven that it's paying out more, he's only shown the opposite.
I trust my own experience, and what YouTube tells me I'm getting from ads vs. YT Premium.
Neither of the channels you mention proved what you believe to be true.
KrummsHairyBalls@lemmy.ca · 2 pts · 2y
I trust big YouTubers who know the system better, thanks. I'm also continuing to pay for premium because I like the ad blocking, the thing you ignored from my original comment.
I guess the anti-paying for things Lemmy crowd showed up. If you broke just say so 💅
Showroom7561@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 2y
You're free to do what you like. I honestly just thought you might want to know, since you mentioned that you pay for YT premium to support content creators.
And I didn't "ignore" anything. When I had Premium, I was still getting ads on my TV, and Google was still using trackers on all platforms. I wasn't going to pay to be spied on or annoyed.
If the service works for you, then awesome. I'm not trying to stop you from paying for a service that works for you.
When it comes to supporting creators, I prefer to donate. It's clean, simple, and they get to keep more revenue.
PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks · 0 pts · 2y
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/-zt57TWkTF4?si=UiE2IQejKJiYygUA
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
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CitizenStile@lemmy.ca · 0 pts · 2y
You hit the nail on the head for me. I'm not a fan of Google, but for the cost spread across a few people, it's actually not a bad price. Knowing the creators I watch actually helps justify
pirrrrrrrr@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 2y
Just got my monthly cost for a family subscription hiked from AU$17.99 to AU$38.99.
Oof. The whole family are definately heavy users of YT and YT Music, so it's still worth it... But ow.