Not everyone wants to pay monthly for the ad-free experience on YouTube, which is why users opt for ad blockers instead. Now that YouTube has been cracking down on the bypass, there's no other choice but to watch with ads or subscribe to the Premium service, and the streaming service might be offering new tiers.
YouTube Premium's New Plans
Depending on where you're located, YouTube's plans aren't exactly cheap. In the US, the monthly fee for the Individual plan costs $13.99 per month, the Family plan for $22.99 a month, and the Student plan for $7.99 a month.
With the streaming giant's new plans, there might be tiers that allow users to share the benefits of a paid plan. It will likely hold the same benefits such as ad-free watching, availability of downloading for offline viewing, and access to YouTube Music ad-free.
"We're committed to bringing members more plan options by expanding our existing offers to more regions, while also introducing new plans and exploring ways for you to share your benefits with friends in the future," YouTube said in a post.
It's unknown what the new benefits are exactly until YouTube explicitly mentions them, but there are a couple of announced features that are already on the platform. For instance, users can now use the "jump ahead" feature, as mentioned in The Verge.
The mentioned feature lets users jump to the part of the video most people skip to. It has already been released for Android users, although iOS devices won't be getting it until the next few weeks, along with picture-in-picture mode.
YouTube is Getting Stricter with Money-Saving Tactics
The streaming service has been cracking down on ad blockers for a while, so much so that it has gone through various consequences for those who use them. Initially, YouTube allowed users to view up to three videos before they were restricted from watching.
Soon enough, users reported that the videos would either be muted or would just skip to the end automatically. YouTube would then suggest that any software or browser extension for ad blockers should be disabled to continue, and that a Premium plan would provide an ad-free experience.
Users have finally resorted to a paid subscription, but some have found a way to pay for less by using a VPN. By spoofing their location, they can instead pay just $2.40 per month if they set their location to Ukraine, as opposed to the US' $13.99, according to PC Mag.
Unfortunately, YouTube has been cracking down on this as well. The platform will immediately cancel the subscription once it detects that the subscriber is using a VPN to fake their location as it violates YouTube's Paid Terms of Service.
"ouTube has initiated the cancellation of premium memberships for accounts identified as having falsified signup country information," a Google representative said. "[T]hese users will receive an email and an in-app notification informing them of the cancellation.
