Troubleshooting YouTube Ads and Firefox RAM Usage Issues
As a regular user of Firefox and uBlock Origin, I’ve recently encountered a frustrating problem that I believe many might relate to. While I’m unsure if these issues are interconnected, I noticed them occurring simultaneously, leading me to suspect a common root cause.
Current Setup
- Browser: Firefox 82.0.3 (64-bit)
- Ad Blocker: uBlock Origin 1.30.6
- Operating System: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- System RAM: 32 GB
The Problem: YouTube Ads and Browser Slowdown
When I attempt to watch videos on YouTube, I’m finding that ads are no longer blocked effectively. Instead of enjoying an ad-free experience, the YouTube video player sometimes displays a blank white screen with a visible “Skip Ad” button and a sluggish progress indicator.
In some instances, I manage to click the skip button, or the ad concludes and the actual video begins. However, other times—unrelated to my interactions—Firefox alerts me that “a website is slowing down the browser.” This is usually accompanied by a rapid escalation in memory usage, often hitting around 1 GB per minute. This alarming trend makes the browser extremely sluggish; even navigating to other websites may trigger similar warnings.
Unfortunately, simply waiting or refreshing the page does little to help. Once memory consumption exceeds 28 GB, interactive options in the affected tab dwindle. The only workaround I’ve discovered is to copy the video link, open a new tab, and close the overloaded one—which, frustratingly, can take several seconds. Alternatively, I can restart the entire browser, but this isn’t ideal.
Attempts at Resolution
I’ve experimented with blocking and unblocking various elements using uBlock Origin’s advanced settings, but these efforts have yielded no positive results. I’ve hesitated to disable uBlock entirely, as the frequency of YouTube ads is becoming unbearable; I am on the verge of abandoning the platform on mobile devices altogether.
While I prefer not to switch to another ad blocker, I am open to suggestions for alternatives similar to uBlock Origin that could address these issues without compromising performance.
Conclusion
I haven’t made any recent changes that would typically trigger these problems, so I’m reaching out to the community for insights or possible solutions. If anyone has encountered similar issues or has recommendations on how to alleviate excessive RAM usage while effectively blocking ads on YouTube
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