YouTube has started reducing the quality of videos worldwide to ease congestion of internet traffic as the majority of people stay at home because of COVID-19. This will last for a month.
YouTube is one of a number of video streaming services asked by regulators to reduce bandwidth usage. Netflix and Amazon Prime Video has already followed suite.
According to the source, YouTube videos will open by default in standard definition (that’s 480p for those unaware). Users, however, can still opt to stream in high definition by manually enabling the option. To do this, just tap the three dots and then quality.
Also see: Netflix limits streaming traffic in PH to ease network congestion
In the Philippines, millions of people are contributing to the increase in bandwidth usage due to the enhanced quarantine in place over the metro and other major regions.
I recommend just downloading YouTube videos in bulk during the mornings and watching offline at a later time to minimize Internet congestion.
