We recently reported that users who used a VPN to subscribe to YouTube Premium were receiving notifications about their subscriptions being canceled. Now, the company has officially confirmed that it is taking action against such subscriptions.

YouTube Premium subscriptions are priced differently across various countries to reflect the purchasing power parity of different currencies. However, many users have been circumventing YouTube’s standard subscription fee (e.g., $14 per month in the US) by using VPNs to appear as though they are in regions where the subscription is cheaper.

In a statement to TechCrunch, a YouTube spokesperson said, “To provide the most accurate plans and offers available, we have systems in place to determine the country of our users. In instances where the signup country does not match where the user is accessing YouTube, we’re asking members to update their billing information to their current country of residence.”

Although YouTube declined to comment to TechCrunch on specific cancellations, a Google support agent confirmed to PCMag that accounts identified as having falsified signup country information are being terminated. Affected users have been receiving an email and in-app notification informing them of the cancellation.

This move is part of what seems like YouTube’s broader effort to enforce its policies more strictly. Recently, the company also began injecting server-side ads to combat the widespread use of ad blockers on its platform.

Update, June 21, 2024 (01:50 AM ET): Yesterday, we told you of reports that people’s YouTube Premium subscriptions were being terminated if that user had used a VPN workaround to get the service at a cheaper rate. Now, we have a statement from Google confirming that it is clamping down on this practice:

To provide the most accurate plans and offers available, we have systems in place to determine the country of our users. In instances where the signup country does not match where the user is accessing YouTube, we’re asking members to update their billing information to their current country of residence.

Interestingly, YouTube did not confirm or deny that it has canceled YouTube Premium subscriptions for this practice.

A customer service rep did tell PCMag, though, that the company “initiated the cancellation of premium memberships for accounts identified as having falsified signup country information.” While this isn’t an official statement from Google, it does heavily suggest that that’s what the company is doing.

The original, unedited article continues after the break.

Original article, June 19, 2024 (08:58 AM ET): A YouTube Premium subscription can be one of the best subscriptions you can purchase, especially if you are an avid user of the video streaming platform. The platform has made it clear that it doesn’t like ad blockers, and the amount of ads on it has also made it rather annoying to use. The only real solutions are to stop using YouTube or plop some money down for a Premium subscription. Some users have used VPNs to buy YouTube Premium at cheaper rates, but it appears that Google is cracking down on such subscriptions and canceling them.

Reddit user Alopez1024 pointed out that YouTube seemingly canceled their YouTube Premium membership out of nowhere.

Other Redditors chimed in, claiming that their subscriptions were canceled too. However, the common thread appears to be that the users used a VPN to subscribe to YouTube Premium at a cheaper rate than what is available for their home market.

YouTube presents different Premium rates to specific markets, possibly to better accommodate the purchasing power of the local currency and align with local consumer expectations. Many people have used a VPN connection to mask their country of origin and take undue advantage of YouTube Premium’s regional pricing.

For instance, one of the common countries for such workaround subscriptions is Ukraine, where the subscription costs 99 UAH per month (~$2.44) compared to $13.99 per month in the US, and an international credit card would work. Premium would work normally after subscription, even without a VPN, making it a lucrative workaround. But not anymore, though.

If you have subscribed to YouTube Premium through a VPN, there is a good chance that your membership has been canceled. If you were scratching your head on the reason, this is probably it.

Redditors who have contacted customer service mention that the cancelation is because the user “moved” to a different location than the one they signed up from. They have been advised to sign up with a local card and address, which would inevitably bring them the normalized regional prices.

So far, we have not yet come across reports of people who have moved countries being caught in this clampdown on VPNs. But there is a possibility that even they could be affected.

We’ve reached out to Google for a statement and will update this article if and when we hear back.

YouTube is testing a redesign with desktop users, and opinion on it is divided, to put it mildly. The platform is experimenting with putting the title, description, and comments to the right of the video player rather than under it and placing video recommendations at the bottom. If you want to try this redesign out, you can pay to become a YouTube Premium subscriber and get a chance to try the experimental redesign before it goes live for all (if at all it does).

As spotted by 9to5Google, YouTube Premium’s experimental features page now lists the new “Redesigned Watch Page” as one of the features that subscribers can opt into. This redesign on desktop seemingly makes it easier to find related content but also “enhances your ability to engage with comments.”

Google’s AI is everywhere, and its next goal is to transform the YouTube experience. The platform is currently testing a new coversational AI feature to help viewers get the most out of the videos they watch by facilitating real-time question-and-answer interactions directly within videos.

Currently, this feature is in the experimental phase and is limited to YouTube’s Android app for YouTube Premium subscribers who are 18 years or older and based in the United States.

Once you enable the feature for your account, you’ll start to notice an “Ask” button beneath eligible videos. Viewers can then type in questions pertaining to the video or choose from provided prompts requesting summaries or related content. The AI will then process both the video content and the query, offering context-relevant responses without pausing playback.

The responses seem to be reasonably accurate and surprisingly swift, indicating that Google’s AI might already be pre-analyzing YouTube videos even before we invoke the feature.

As far as I could check, most videos where English is being used to talk or narrate the content did show the Ask prompt, including all of our latest videos on the Android Authority YouTube channel. Informational videos with a mix of Hindi and English language didn’t show the Ask prompt, and the same goes for music videos.

For now, YouTube states that this feature will only be available until May 1, but I can’t wait for it to roll out publicly. There’s a treasure trove of informational videos and tutorials on YouTube, and having a way to quickly summarize them or ask about the specific thing you’re looking for could be fantastic.

Google’s AI is everywhere, and its next goal is to transform the YouTube experience. The platform is currently testing a new coversational AI feature to help viewers get the most out of the videos they watch by facilitating real-time question-and-answer interactions directly within videos.

Currently, this feature is in the experimental phase and is limited to YouTube’s Android app for YouTube Premium subscribers who are 18 years or older and based in the United States.

Once you enable the feature for your account, you’ll start to notice an “Ask” button beneath eligible videos. Viewers can then type in questions pertaining to the video or choose from provided prompts requesting summaries or related content. The AI will then process both the video content and the query, offering context-relevant responses without pausing playback.

The responses seem to be reasonably accurate and surprisingly swift, indicating that Google’s AI might already be pre-analyzing YouTube videos even before we invoke the feature.

As far as I could check, most videos where English is being used to talk or narrate the content did show the Ask prompt, including all of our latest videos on the Android Authority YouTube channel. Informational videos with a mix of Hindi and English language didn’t show the Ask prompt, and the same goes for music videos.

For now, YouTube states that this feature will only be available until May 1, but I can’t wait for it to roll out publicly. There’s a treasure trove of informational videos and tutorials on YouTube, and having a way to quickly summarize them or ask about the specific thing you’re looking for could be fantastic.