watching video on ESPN continually increases Ads/Trackers blocked on new tab page - follow up to 1311

[LaurenWags]

Description

Follow up to #1311

When watching a video (such as this one), the Ads/Trackers on new tab page incrementally increase. Per https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/1311#issuecomment-446512675 it doesn't seem to be happening on Linux or Windows for @srirambv or @GeetaSarvadnya but I am seeing it on macOS.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a new tab page
2. Open a second window
3. Have both within view on monitor
4. Visit video above.
5. Watch in counts go up while the video plays.

Actual result:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bb6xMRuL8zylcUGpgo4RjYcdRoENERoL/view?usp=sharing

Expected result:

Once page has loaded I wouldn't expect the counts to go up.

Reproduces how often:

easily

Brave version (brave://version info)

Brave	0.58.11 Chromium: 71.0.3578.80 (Official Build) beta(64-bit)
Revision	2ac50e7249fbd55e6f517a28131605c9fb9fe897-refs/branch-heads/3578@{#860}
OS	Mac OS X

Reproducible on current release:

• Does it reproduce on brave-browser dev/beta builds? yes

Website problems only:

• Does the issue resolve itself when disabling Brave Shields? yes
• Is the issue reproducible on the latest version of Chrome? n/a

Additional Information

cc @brave/legacy_qa to confirm this does not reproduce on Windows/Linux

[nithronium]

I do not know if this was also mentioned before but I have the same issue with Youtube. Sometimes it becomes like 700 ads/trackers being blocked. It starts with 3-4, then keeps increasing as I keep watching.

Problem is resolved when I disabled the shields. However, if I activate again, problem occurs again.

[srirambv]

@LaurenWags could you check the network tab and see which script is not being blocked? Previously it used to happen like this

and my personal high score on this is

@nithronium do you see the stats increase similar to the above gif when you visit YouTube.com? Are there any specific videos that you see this? I have seen that on YT everytime you load a new video the amount of blocked item increase progressively but never went crazy like espn.com

[Brave-Matt]

Nope, YT ads are just aggressive. https://www.reddit.com/r/brave_browser/comments/9zusl9/can_youtube_really_have_300_trackers_or_is_brave/

[nithronium]

Alright then. I didn't know YouTube had such aggressive ads. Other than that, my friend also reported he had issues with espn but no other website so far. I think I'm good to go. @srirambv

[lukemulks]

I took a look at the espn video playback, and the requests we're blocking are requests that we should be blocking imo.

The majority appear to be chartbeat requests, which are sending data back to chartbeat through the video player.

I'm also observing the following requests, that appear to be related to video header bidding,

Request URL: http://espn.hb.omtrdc.net/?s:sc:rsid=wdgespcom%2Cwdgespge&s:sc:tracking_server=w88.espn.com&h:sc:ssl=0&s:user:mid=61908584608842934314814505294492092541&s:sp:ovp=Brightcove&s:sp:sdk=1.6.7&s:sp:channel=espn&s:sp:player_name=PROD%201.9.x%20-%20BC%205.28%20-%20no%20flashls%20-%20FW%20v3.x&s:sp:hb_version=js-n-1.6.9.110-a2ee4c&l:sp:hb_api_lvl=4&s:event:sid=1549868828525149226884&s:event:type=start&l:event:duration=10&l:event:playhead=0&l:event:ts=1549868833557&l:event:prev_ts=-1&s:asset:type=main&s:asset:name=NBA_One-Play%20(No-call%20on%20Durant%E2%80%99s%20double-dribble%20leads%20to%20controversial%20ending)%202019%2F2%2F10%20ESHEET&s:asset:video_id=25969632&s:asset:publisher=EE0201AC512D2BE80A490D4C%40AdobeOrg&l:asset:length=38&s:stream:type=vod&l:stream:bitrate=0&l:stream:fps=0&l:stream:dropped_frames=0&l:stream:startup_time=0&s:meta:startType=manual&s:meta:Showcode=nba_instantreplay&s:meta:a.media.type=2&s:meta:a.nielsen.clientid=us-600140&s:meta:a.nielsen.vcid=b01&s:meta:a.nielsen.appid=P31187EE2-AC6E-46CB-BB54-D07591BED067&s:meta:a.nielsen.program=NBA_One-Play%20(No-call%20on%20Durant%E2%80%99s%20double-dribble%20leads%20to%20controversial%20ending)%202019%2F2%2F10%20ESHEET&s:meta:a.nielsen.segc=Sport%2FProgram%20Code&s:meta:a.nielsen.admodel=2&s:meta:a.nielsen.sega=NBA_One-Play%20(No-call%20on%20Durant%E2%80%99s%20double-dribble%20leads%20to%20controversial%20ending)%202019%2F2%2F10%20ESHEET&s:meta:a.nielsen.accmethod=0&s:meta:a.nielsen.ctype=VIDEO

Might seem high, but I'd suggest that if the blocking taking place doesn't disrupt the UX, then it's likely something we should avoid making exceptions for imo. Nielsen and other companies that I'm observing blocked requests to profile user data.

[Brave-Matt]

+1 (kinda): https://community.brave.com/t/laptop-runs-hot-when-brave-browser-open/54034/3?u=mattches ☝️ User cites ESPN as an example of a site that causes high CPU usage/heat

[adamwinn]

I'm seeing this too. My trackers blocked counter was increasing by multiple thousands in just a few seconds. Brave shot up to 700% cpu. This is on the homepage of espn.com. It didn't used to do this so maybe it was something caused in the last update. I'm using Version 0.68.139 Chromium: 77.0.3865.90 (Official Build) (64-bit)

[ryanbr]

I've checked this in Brave released (Version 1.1.21 Chromium: 79.0.3945.79 (Official Build) (64-bit)):

I'll address the 2 issues, the espn site is using trackers continuously throughout the video, and it should be blocked (as @lukemulks stated). Using uBo to see which trackers are being hit. https://secure.fanboy.co.nz/gif/espn-trackers.gif All of these are being blocked by shields. (Note, uBo number of blocked items is also increasing as the video plays)

The other issue, does it cause cpu usage? https://secure.fanboy.co.nz/gif/espn-cpu.gif I don't think so? Even on my old Ryzen 1700 desktop. Getting around 10-15% variance. I'll check other platforms like smart phones and maybe less core heavy cpus. But initial checks it seems okay.

[ryanbr]

Okay, retested this. https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/775/blog/post/3725073/spurs-sneak-into-ucl-knockout-rounds-after-fighting-back-for-draw-at-barca

The blocked items counter don't continue going up, which stopped on 24 blocked items, except if you keep scrolling in the window (new blocked requests come through).

Safe to close @LaurenWags

[LaurenWags]

@ryanbr after re-reading the steps, this issue is about watching a video on espn, not visiting an article like the one you referenced.

So, in the STR below the issue still reproduces using default shield settings:

1. Open one window to show NTP with stats
2. Open a second window and visit an article with a video like https://www.espn.com/soccer/brazilian-serie-a/story/4274748/fan-unrest-in-brazil-serves-as-warning-to-europes-super-league-dreams
3. Keep both windows within view (ex. side by side)
4. Play the video on the article
5. Watch the shield count continually increase as the video is playing. On the NTP the "Trackers & ads blocked" continues to increase as well.

Confirmed using

Brave	1.19.72 Chromium: 87.0.4280.101 (Official Build) beta (x86_64)
Revision	9407c80213cda69c2b7abcb4fa8e3f74488f4956-refs/branch-heads/4280@{#1807}
OS	macOS Version 10.15.7 (Build 19H15)

[kjozwiak]

Reproduced this pretty easily as well using the STR that @LaurenWags mentioned via https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/2505#issuecomment-753961726 on Win 10 x64 using the following build:

Brave | 1.18.77 Chromium: 87.0.4280.101 (Official Build) (64-bit)
-- | --
Revision | 9407c80213cda69c2b7abcb4fa8e3f74488f4956-refs/branch-heads/4280@{#1807}
OS | Windows 10 OS Version 2009 (Build 19042.685)

After loading the URL, the Trackers & ads blocked stat under brave://newtab slowly increased while the video was being played.

[ryanbr]

Hmm okay, its affecting other browsers. Only occurs during video plackback.

The following should help a little bit, but won't stop 3 other blocked requests. https://github.com/easylist/easylist/commit/7eef3792b6372d453d862ee65bd7fdebff931ab3

(new) blocked 3rd-party requests from the video playback.

scorecardresearch.com metrics.brightcove.com espn.hb.omtrdc.net

[ryanbr]

Looks good now @LaurenWags , safe to close?

[LaurenWags]

@ryanbr so just tried again and issue still reproduces but not as quickly as it did initially.

My "Trackers and ads blocked" on NTP was around 30-something when I started, it's now almost 60. Value on shields is increasing as well, but not sure where that one started out.

Used https://www.espn.com/soccer/uefa-champions-league/story/4944234/champions-league-live-updates-real-madrid-manchester-city and steps from https://github.com/brave/brave-browser/issues/2505#issuecomment-753961726.

Using

Brave | 1.52.86 Chromium: 113.0.5672.77 (Official Build) beta (x86_64)
-- | --
Revision | c4236862955e005c2187105415ac4a2ecf86dff1-refs/branch-heads/5672_62@{#3}
OS | macOS Version 13.3.1 (a) (Build 22E772610a)

[ryanbr]

@LaurenWags I'm leaning towards its intended, other adblocking extensions show the increase in blocked items.

In a video, if they keep sending trackers during video playback (and viewing the page) it should be blocked. However it shouldn't cause any performance issues. Are you seeing any perf issues?

[LaurenWags]

@ryanbr no performance issues at this time 👍🏻

[ryanbr]

Okay, we'll close this. Not really a fix for a site who keeps sending out trackers. We'll just keep blocking it.