Google cracks down on VPN-based discount

It looks like the game is over for YouTube users who got cheaper Premium subscriptions by hiding their location with Virtual Private Networks (VPN).

In the United States, Google charges individual users $14 per month for YouTube Premium, which limits ads and offers a few additional features. But this price varies considerably depending on the region, and some Reddit users say they once managed to get better deals by pretending to access the service from other countries, PCMag And TechCrunch reported. Google charges the equivalent of $3 per month or less in countries like Argentina, India, Turkey, Ukraine and the Philippines, according to Android Authority. However, this workaround is apparently toast.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the matter, but the internet giant’s support staff reportedly told PCMag that YouTube had recently begun canceling premium plans “for accounts identified as having tampered information on the country of registration”. A YouTube Help The page asks potential subscribers to turn off their VPN if they get an error while signing up for Premium.

Basically, VPNs have a variety of uses and Google already sold one; THE Google One service ceased to exist in April, apparently because it wasn’t popular. Some people may turn to VPNs in search of discounts, but others rely on VPNs to access content and features that simply wouldn’t be available where they live.

This apparent crackdown is just the latest in Google’s efforts to squeeze more money out of the video site. Google also recently has stepped up its crackdown on ad blockers by making YouTube videos inaccessible to users of services like AdBlock.