this post was submitted on 25 Aug 2025
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Privacy

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Based on recent reports, YouTube is actively restricting access to Premium accounts created through VPNs and cracking down on users accessing Premium content across different regions. According to user discussions, YouTube now detects and blocks VPN connections when attempting to stream Premium content[^6][^10].

Some key impacts:

  • Users report being unable to play YouTube Music through Sonos speakers when using a VPN, with the service becoming accessible only after bypassing VPN connections[^6]
  • Premium subscribers attempting to access content from different regions than their subscription face connection errors and service disruptions
  • The restrictions appear to be part of YouTube's broader strategy to enforce regional content licensing and subscription terms

The crackdown coincides with YouTube's increased focus on Premium subscriptions, including showing longer unskippable ads to free users in 2025 to drive Premium adoption[^8].

[^6]: Sonos Community - Unable to play YouTube Music

[^8]: LateNode Community - Why are YouTube users experiencing extremely long, non-skippable advertisements?

[^10]: Reddit r/VPN - Getting around YouTube Premium

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[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Just install uBO/use Brave and you don't need Premium.

[–] warm@kbin.earth 50 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Dont use brave, use uBlock Origin and Firefox.

Or FreeTube on Desktop.

For mobile, NewPipe or one of its forks, e.g. PipePipe for SponsorBlock too.

[–] Scrollone@feddit.it 2 points 6 days ago

And for Android TV, use SmartTube.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You're very brave to make such a suggestion around here.

[–] DieserTypMatthias@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

At least on Brave you don't have to use an account (which Mozilla hasn't figured out yet) to synchronize your bookmarks, extensions and settings. And mind you that you can disable all the controversial things.

[–] artyom@piefed.social 1 points 5 days ago

It's true. I use Brave as well. They have several novel privacy features that no one else does. And although the company has a checkered history, I still think it's the best (for now). I just wish more FOSS devs would take notes and implement these privacy features in other browsers.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

You don't need Premium anyway. For the cost of an YT Premium account you can use Netflix, Rakuten or any other paid streaming service with less money, or even for free in PlutoTV, or channels of public TV of every country, where you can watch movies, documentals, Series, etc for free, without ads. The greed and policy of YT will be its end sooner or later. Ads always can be avoided, uBO, even uBO Lite, Adguard and several others are working fine in YT.

[–] rollin@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I stopped paying for YouTube when they started cracking down on free users, and stopped using them pretty much entirely. It was hard though - even though I have Netflix, I always found it easier to find interesting and informative things to watch on YouTube than Netflix. I'd watch YouTube several times a day, whereas with Netflix I usually spend about 10 or 15 minutes scrolling through their god-awful UI before closing it and finding something else to do.

[–] Zerush@lemmy.ml 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

At least in the EU almost every public TV has an online channel with movies, series, documentals, entertainment, live and/or on demand, all for free and without ads, similar in Pluto TV

Spanish public TV

German public TV

More

https://tv.ssuiteoffice.com/

[–] eee@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 week ago

You can add arte, too.