YouTube Mobile App Hits Major Snag: Over 50% of Users Blocked from Access

Users worldwide are reporting major technical disruptions with the video-hosting platform YouTube. According to data from the monitoring service Downdetector, over 329,000 reports of service outages were recorded as of the morning of February 18.

The highest volume of complaints originated from the United States, with more than 320,000 reports. According to the platform's analysis, the primary issues faced by users are:

• 56% – Malfunctioning of the mobile application;
• 18% – Difficulty accessing the website;
• 16% – Obstacles in streaming videos online.

Accessibility to YouTube has also been restricted in the United Kingdom (over 37,000 complaints), Germany (approximately 7,000), Italy (over 5,000), and France.

Notably, Google has recently intensified its measures against users employing ad-blocking extensions (AdBlock). According to Android Authority and Reddit, when such programs are enabled, video descriptions disappear, and comments are replaced by a "Comments are turned off" warning. The interface reportedly returns to normal once the extension is disabled.

It is also worth noting that an anomalous channel broadcasting from North Korea was recently discovered on the YouTube network.