Jun 21, 2024 10:59:00

YouTube is spoofing location information to cancel YouTube Premium subscriptions for users

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YouTube Premium as a paid subscription, which allows subscribers to use YouTube without ads and play YouTube Music offline and in the background. YouTube Premium is offered for 1,280 yen per month in Japan, but since the price varies slightly depending on the region, some users are able to obtain YouTube Premium more cheaply by spoofing their location using a VPN . However, it has been revealed that users who purchased YouTube Premium by spoofing their location have had their subscriptions canceled.

YouTube is canceling Premium subscriptions with spoofed locations - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/20/24182686/youtube-premium-subscriptions-vpn-canceled

YouTube confirms crackdown on VPN users accessing cheaper Premium plans | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/20/youtube-confirms-crackdown-on-vpn-users-accessing-cheaper-premium-plans/

YouTube Is Cracking Down on Cheap Premium Plans Bought With a VPN | PCMag
https://www.pcmag.com/news/youtube-cracking-down-on-cheap-premium-plans-bought-via-vpn

Starting in mid-June 2024, there have been reports on Reddit that YouTube Premium subscriptions will be automatically canceled.

Below is the email received from YouTube by a user who reported that their YouTube Premium subscription was automatically canceled. There was no specific explanation as to why YouTube Premium was canceled, and the user who reported it wrote, 'Why is YouTube Premium being canceled? There is no change in my payment information and it is still valid.'

Users who have had their YouTube Premium subscriptions canceled in the same way have reported that 'YouTube appears to be cracking down on cheap VPN subscriptions,' and it has been revealed that subscriptions of users who use VPNs to fake the country or region they live in are being canceled. One user wrote, 'I subscribed to YouTube Premium via Ukraine, and my subscription was canceled. I tried to renew my subscription using the same debit card I always use, but it seems that from now on, a card with an address in the same country as the subscription will be required.'

When TechCrunch, an overseas media outlet, contacted YouTube to confirm the facts, the company acknowledged that it has a system that detects when YouTube Premium subscribers lie about their country of registration and updates their payment information. A YouTube spokesperson said, 'We have systems in place to determine a user's country of registration in order to provide the most accurate plans and offers,' and 'If a user's country of registration does not match the country they are accessing YouTube in, we ask members to update their billing information to their current country of residence.' However, YouTube declined to comment on whether YouTube Premium is automatically canceled.

Meanwhile, a Google support representative told PCMag, 'YouTube cancels YouTube Premium subscriptions for accounts found to have falsified their country of registration,' acknowledging that the company automatically cancels subscriptions for users who have faked their location information to purchase YouTube Premium. They also acknowledged that users whose YouTube Premium subscriptions have been canceled are notified of the cancellation.

YouTube is also strengthening its measures to improve its revenue, such as cracking down on ad blockers and raising the price of YouTube Premium .