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Google is taking a tough stance on YouTube viewers who use it the best VPN deals to subscribe to free YouTube Premium in other countries. The Californian company has confirmed that it is tracking subscribers whose current location does not match the state of registration listed in the system.
If an anomaly is found, Google will ask users to update their billing information.
Furious YouTube Premium subscribers flooded Reddit to complain that their subscriptions were canceled after Google detected VPN activity to purchase an affordable subscription outside their region.
“Looks like they’ve cracked down on people using VPNs to subscribe,” one user on the social news website he complained. “My YouTube premium subscription through Ukraine was cancelled. I tried to renew using the same Revolut debit card I always use and now it asks for a card with an address in the country of subscription.”
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Another added: “Same thing happened here. Message on homepage telling me my previous country was incorrect (Turkey)”
VPNs are typically used to protect your privacy by encrypting your online activity and obscuring your IP address – keeping your location hidden from your broadband provider, advertisers and hackers. Once the domain of enterprise users, VPNs are now a key security measure for millions around the world.
These great apps can also be used to manually change your IP address to spoof your current location. This has applications for online games, Call of Duty Warzone VPN remain incredibly popular, but it also means you can unlock subscriptions and cheaper prices only available in other countries.
Google – like most companies – varies its subscription prices in different regions. People used a VPN to change their IP address to a location where YouTube Premium was less expensive.
YouTube Premium costs UAH 99 in Ukraine, which converts to approximately £1.94. The same subscription – with all the same benefits – it costs £12.99 in the UK.
In a statement at TechCrunchA Google spokesperson confirmed the hit: “In order to provide the most accurate plans and offers available, we have systems in place to determine the location of our users. In cases where the location of registration does not match the location where the user is accessing YouTube, we ‘ is asking members to update their billing information to their current country of residence.”
The spokesman would not be under pressure if he had canceled subscriptions purchased through VPNs.
However, a customer service representative who works for Google confirmed for PC Mag that YouTube has “initiated the cancellation of premium memberships for accounts identified as having falsified registration state information.”
The support agent said the wave of cancellations had started “recently”, but did not confirm the exact date the crackdown would start. The customer service representative added: “Due to the violation of YouTube’s paid terms of service, these users will receive an email and an in-app notification informing them of the cancellation.”
YouTube Premium includes all the benefits of YouTube Music, £10.99 per month, plus ad-free viewing of all YouTube videos, the ability to download videos for offline viewing and more
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Last summer, Google increased the prices for YouTube Premium subscribers in the UK, increasing the monthly subscription from £11.99 to £12.99 for all new customers. At the beginning of the year, the same price increase was applied to existing subscribers.
The Family plan, which allows up to six people to listen on their devices, rose from £17.99 to £19.99 in the UK. This is a price increase of 11%.
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YouTube Premium includes several benefits, including ad-free YouTube videos.
It also lets you download videos to watch offline – and you can play videos in the background while using other apps. The same monthly subscription also includes access to YouTube Music Premium, which is its rival like Spotify, Apple MusicAND Deezer.
In addition to offline playback and curated playlists, YouTube Music Premium also aggregates music videos.