Severe YouTube UI lag, input delay, timeline jump back, and ghost buffering

[SudiptaSaha20]

Description

YouTube experiences input delay (typing comments/searching), random timeline jumps (snapping backward), and ghost buffering (video pauses/buffers without showing the loading spinner). Disabling extensions temporarily fixes the issue, but it returns after extended playback.

Steps to reproduce

1. Open youtube.com on a clean/normal session.
2. Play a video (or switch between multiple videos).
3. Attempt to type in the search bar/comment box, or scrub through the video timeline.

Actual result

• High input latency when clicking/typing.
• The player snaps backward on the timeline unexpectedly.
• Video buffers or freezes while audio plays or pauses silently.

Expected result

Smooth UI performance and linear timeline playback without input lag.

Reproduces how often

Intermittent issue

Brave version (brave://version info)

• Brave Version: 1.93.129 Chromium: 151.0.7922.71 (Official Build) (64-bit)
• Revision: 96e337f9f5f202e633be4c080b702279ea2a0d00
• OS: Windows 11 Version 25H2 (Build 26200.8894)

Channel information

• release (stable)
• beta
• nightly

Reproducibility

• with Brave Shields disabled
• with Brave Rewards disabled
• in the latest version of Chrome

Miscellaneous information

Clearing cache or turning off extensions provides temporary relief, but performance degrades again over time. Likely related to background script execution loops, service worker caching, or YouTube anti-adblock script handling.