YouTube is dealing with a fresh technical glitch that affects its Android and iOS apps and is degrading the viewing experience for millions of users.

Those affected report that videos suddenly drop out of fullscreen mode and shrink into the scrolling mini player — even when they haven't touched the screen at all. And the annoyance doesn't stop there: when the video shrinks, the audio cuts out instantly and playback stops.

Complaints keep piling up

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According to numerous user reports on Reddit, the glitch first appeared in early October and is still ongoing. Users say videos shrink on their own while they're not interacting with the screen or touching any settings.

Another frustrating detail is that the audio often doesn't come back. Even when the video is returned to fullscreen, the sound stays gone. Some users say they can recover it by closing and reopening the video, while others report having to shut down and restart the app entirely.

The usual fixes aren't working

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Based on user experiences, clearing the cache, reinstalling the latest version of the app, rebooting the phone, or fiddling with app settings doesn't help. The fact that the problem is appearing on Android and iOS at the same time suggests it stems not from the devices themselves, but directly from YouTube's infrastructure.

At this stage there is no confirmed permanent fix. Official reports have been submitted to Google; until the company ships a patch, the only thing users can do when the issue strikes appears to be restarting the player or the app.