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Google is taking a tough stance on YouTube viewers who use best VPN deals to subscribe to cheap YouTube Premium in other countries. The California-based company confirmed that it is pursuing subscribers whose current location does not match the country of registration listed in the system.
If an anomaly is detected, Google will ask users to update their billing information.
Furious YouTube Premium subscribers flooded Reddit to complain that their subscription was canceled after Google detected VPN activity to purchase an available subscription outside their region.
“Looks like they’ve hit people who use a VPN to subscribe,” one user on the social media site he groaned. “My YouTube premium subscription via Ukraine has been 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 subscriber’s country.”
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Next he added: “Same thing happened here. Message on home page that 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 provider, advertisers and hackers. Once the domain of business users, VPNs are now the primary security measure for millions of people around the world.
These nifty apps can also be used to manually change your IP address and spoof your current location. It has online gaming apps, Call of Duty Warzone VPN they remain incredibly popular, but it also means you can unlock cheaper subscriptions and prices only available in other countries.
Google – like most companies – varies subscription prices in different regions. People used VPN to change their IP address to a place where YouTube Premium was cheaper.
YouTube Premium costs UAH 99 in Ukraine, which translates to roughly £1.94. The same subscription – with all the same benefits – in the UK it costs £12.99.
In a statement on 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 country of our users. In cases where the country of registration does not match where the user accesses YouTube, ‘I ask members to update their billing data by country of their current residence.”
The spokesperson will not be pressed to cancel a subscription purchased through a VPN.
However, a customer service representative working for Google confirmed by PC Mag that YouTube has “initiated the cancellation of premium memberships for accounts found to have falsified country of registration information”.
A support representative said the wave of disruptions began “recently” but did not confirm the exact date the crackdown began. A customer service representative added: “Due to a violation of YouTube’s paid terms of service, these users will receive an email and in-app notification informing them of the cancellation.”
YouTube Premium includes all the benefits of YouTube Music, £10.99 per month, as well as watching all YouTube videos without ads, 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 monthly subscriptions from £11.99 to £12.99 for all new customers. At the beginning of the year, the same price increase occurred for existing subscribers.
The family plan, which allows up to six people to listen on their own devices, has risen from £17.99 to £19.99 in the UK. That’s an 11% price increase.
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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 you use other apps. The same monthly subscription also includes access to YouTube Music Premium, which is a rival like Spotify, Apple Musicand Deezer.
In addition to offline playback and curated playlists, YouTube Music Premium also offers music videos.