The video-sharing platform will cancel subscriptions if unauthorized region changes are detected to pay lower fees.
YouTube prevents Premium plans from being purchased in the wrong region. Photo: NurPhoto.
Recently, YouTube has continuously experimented with new ways to disable ad blockers. In the latest development, the platform targets even paying customers. Specifically, Google will cancel the subscription if users enable a VPN to spoof their IP and purchase YouTube Premium at a lower rate than their local country.
“We have a system to determine the user’s region to provide accurate packages and offers. If the subscription country does not match the customer’s access location, the company will require the member to update the payment information to the correct location,” Google told TechCrunch.
A user had their Premium plan canceled because of subscription area fraud. Photo: Reddit.
The statement came after reports from Reddit users indicated that their Premium packages were suddenly canceled without prior warning. This customer contacted the seller of the YouTube Premium account and was informed that the service had been transferred to a new region. Another user reported signing up for YouTube Premium with a Ukrainian IP at a price of £2.3/month. However, the package was later moved back to the UK, with the fee rising to £13.
In reality, the prices of these service packages vary by country. Users in the US pay $14 per month, while in India the cost is only $1.54. Previously, many Vietnamese users also “jumped” to Egypt and Turkey to save costs.
In the reported cases, YouTube did not cancel the purchased package but moved the region to the correct location. However, in response to PCMag, the platform stated that it would cancel memberships with accounts identified as having fraudulent registration information.
Recently, the developer of the extension FunderBlock revealed that YouTube “is testing server-side ad insertion.” This technique is used to deliver ads directly from the content host server, bypassing client-side systems like ad blockers.
Currently, ads on YouTube are inserted into content on the client-side (user’s device) using scripts. These can be detected and blocked by ad-blocking software.
However, with the new server-side ad insertion feature, YouTube will integrate ads into the content before sending it to the user’s device. This method makes it harder for ad blockers to distinguish and filter out ads.
By coordinating against ad blocking and promoting Premium packages, YouTube can generate more revenue from users. With $224.47 billion in ad revenue, accounting for 80% of the total $279.8 billion in revenue in 2022, the company will undoubtedly strive to prevent any threats to its lucrative business segment.
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Source: Vietnam Insider