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Google is taking a hardline stance on YouTube viewers who leverage the best VPN deals to subscribe to cheap YouTube Premium in other countries. The Californian company has confirmed that it's chasing down subscribers whose current location doesn't match the signup country listed in the system.
If an anomaly is spotted, Google will ask users to update their billing information.
Enraged YouTube Premium subscribers flooded Reddit to complain their subscriptions had been cancelled after Google detected VPN activity to purchase an affordable subscription outside of their region.
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"It looks like they've clamped down on people using VPNs to subscribe," one user on the social news website moaned. "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 subscribing country."
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Another added: "Same happened here. Message on the homepage telling me my previous country was not accurate (Turkey)"
VPNs are commonly used to protect your privacy by encrypting your online activity and obscuring your IP address — keeping your location hidden from your broadband supplier, advertisers, and hackers. Once the domain of enterprise users, VPNs are now a mainstream security measure for millions worldwide.
These nifty apps can also be used to manually change your IP address to spoof your current location. This has applications for online gaming, Call of Duty Warzone VPNs remain incredibly popular, but also means you can unlock cheaper subscriptions and prices only available in other countries.
Google — like most companies — alters its subscription prices in different regions. People used a VPN to alter their IP address to a location where YouTube Premium was less expensive.
YouTube Premium costs 99 UAH in Ukraine, which is roughly £1.94 converted. That same subscription — with all of the same benefits — costs £12.99 in the UK.
In a statement to TechCrunch, a spokesperson for Google confirmed the crackdown: "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."
The spokesperson would not be pressed on whether it had cancelled subscriptions bought via VPNs.
However, a customer service representative working for Google confirmed to PC Mag that YouTube has "initiated the cancellation of premium memberships for accounts identified as having falsified signup country information."
The support agent said the wave of cancellations had started "recently," but didn't confirm the exact date the crackdown began. The customer service representative added: "Due to violating 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 of the benefits of YouTube Music, £10.99 per month, as well as ad-free viewing on all YouTube videos, the ability to download videos to watch offline, and more
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Last summer, Google increased prices for YouTube Premium subscribers in the UK, raising the monthly subscription from £11.99 up to £12.99 for all new customers. At the beginning of the year, the same price hike was applied to existing subscribers too.
The Family plan, which allows up to six people to listen on their own devices, increased from £17.99 to £19.99 in the UK. That's an 11% price rise.
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YouTube Premium includes several benefits, including ad-free videos on YouTube.
It also lets you download videos to watch offline — and you can play videos in the background while you use other apps. The same monthly subscription includes access to YouTube Music Premium too, which is a rival to the likes of Spotify, Apple Music, and Deezer.
As well as offline playback and curated playlists, YouTube Music Premium also bundles music videos.
