If you are a YouTube Premium user that also uses a Virtual Private Network service (VPN) you might have noticed that your subscription plan has been automatically cancelled. Well, that’s because YouTube is now taking a firm stance against Premium subscribers who use VPNs to access cheaper subscription prices.
This was confirmed a few days ago when several users in many countries took to Reddit enquiring why they were receiving emails from YouTube confirming the cancellation of their Premium subscriptions.
While VPNs are tools commonly used to protect user privacy, many users also use them to disguise their IP addresses to specific geographic locations. So they have been using them to look like they are from countries that offer cheaper Premium plan prices.
The video streaming company later confirmed the crackdown, stating that it can detect when a subscriber has cloaked their IP address to lie about their signup country.
Speaking 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,” a YouTube spokesperson told us. “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.”
YouTube has been known to be very firm against using tools like VPNs and ad blockers, especially for non-premium users who don’t wish to see ads. But this seems like a new crackdown that will also affect Premium users a few months after the company expanded the coverage of its Premium plans to other countries worldwide including Kenya.
Most of the users feeling this new action are based in the U.S. since the company increased the price of YouTube Premium for individuals from $12 to $14 per month.
