Many YouTube mobile users are reporting a strange YouTube mobile bug in the app. When they open a video in full-screen mode, a small ad appears in the corner and refuses to close.
Under normal circumstances, these ads include a small “dismiss” option that allows users to remove them. However, in this case, many users say the button is not working. As a result, the ad remains visible while the video continues playing, blocking part of the screen and making the viewing experience especially frustrating on mobile devices.
A number of Reddit users have posted about the issue, and several tech publications have also recently covered it. All signs suggest that the YouTube mobile bug is affecting users right now. So far, YouTube has not released any official statement acknowledging the problem.
Users notice ads in the corner during full-screen videos
According to many users, the ad appears in the bottom corner once the video is switched to full screen. At first, it looks like a normal overlay ad. Many people have also reported having trouble closing down their YouTube ads. There are some reports that the people have pressed “dismiss” many times, but they still cannot close the ad.
For a few people, the banner disappeared after about 20–30 seconds. But others said it stayed there until they exited the video. That means the ad keeps covering part of the video the whole time.
The issue started getting attention on Reddit
The issue first began spreading through posts on Reddit, where users described a possible YouTube mobile bug. One user reported that while watching YouTube on their phone last night, a corner advertisement appeared and could not be closed despite repeated attempts.
After that post, more users joined the discussion and confirmed they had experienced the same YouTube mobile bug. Some said it happened on Android devices, while others reported the issue on iPhones, suggesting the problem is tied to the YouTube app itself rather than a device-specific case.
Free YouTube mobile users seem to be seeing it more
Most reports to date are from users of the free YouTube app. Users of the paid version of YouTube (i.e., “YouTube Premium”) will not see advertising when watching videos and therefore cannot be experiencing this issue.
As a result, some of these same users initially thought it could be that YouTube is testing out new types of advertising. But many tech writers believe this is more likely a bug. The reason is simple — if a dismiss button is shown but does not work, it usually means something is broken in the app.
Some users are trying small tricks to deal with it
As of right now, there’s no known fix for this issue, so users are trying some of the more common solutions to resolve the issue. One of the places where there’s some success is by completely exiting out of the YouTube app, then reopening it, which allows you to temporarily clear the YouTube banner. You can also try updating your YouTube app via either the Play Store/ App Store, while others did not find it successful.
Many individuals have also reported that they’ve found success in viewing YouTube videos w/out the overlay banner when accessing via their mobile device’s web browser as opposed to through the application.
Although these methods are not exact remedies for everyone, they appear to be successful at providing some users with ways to continue accessing video content while preventing the banner from appearing over the viewing area.
Ads on YouTube have already been a hot topic
There are lots of reasons why YouTube ads have gotten a lot of attention lately from the community. Videos are getting more ads than ever because of an increased focus by YouTube on enforcing its no-ad policy. In addition to that, there are more rules regarding ad appearance and duration.
Advertising revenue represents one of YouTube’s primary sources of revenue, advertising will still be a significant revenue source for years to come.
Users regularly express dissatisfaction when an advertisement appears that:
- Captures and occupies the entire viewing space
- Doesn’t dismiss when closing the advertisement
- Is visible in a small area of the user interface (i.e., a virtual overlay) while viewing content.
YouTube has not responded yet
YouTube has yet to address the full-screen ad issue. We don’t know if other users are having the same experience. If other users report problems with full-screen ads, YouTube may include a fix in a later update to the app. Meanwhile, some users will still see ad placement in the corners of their smartphone’s screens while viewing in full-screen mode until the issue is resolved.
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