YouTube appears to be taking a firm stance against premium subscribers who try to use a VPN (virtual private network) to access cheaper subscription prices in other countries.
This week, a number of users took to Reddit To express their frustration after canceling their premium plans to use a VPN to purchase a subscription outside their assigned region.
VPNs are commonly used to protect user privacy and prevent cyberattacks, but they can also hide a user’s IP address, which can be traced to a specific geographic location. VPNs can also display a specific country of origin, allowing users to appear as if they reside in a different country where YouTube Premium may be less expensive.
The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it can detect when a subscriber is lying about their subscription country and the system will prompt the user to update their billing information.
“To provide the most accurate plans and offers available, we have systems in place to identify the country of our users,” a YouTube spokesperson told us. “In cases where the subscription country does not match where a user accesses YouTube, we ask members to update their billing information to their current country of residence.”
However, the company refused to talk to us about any cancellations. On the other hand, a Google support agent told PCMag that YouTube “has begun canceling premium memberships for accounts identified as having fraudulent subscription country information.” The agent also said that a wave of cancellations has started recently and that users who violate the rule will receive an email and in-app notification that their plans have been cancelled.
The alleged crackdown comes one year after a crackdown on YouTube Higher prices for US subscribersraising the price of Premium for individuals from $12 to $14 per month.