YouTube offered varied premium subscriptions that users could choose from based on purchasing powers and diverse regional consumer purchasing habits. However, many users took advantage of this facility by exploiting regional leverage through VPNs and pretending to be subscribers from countries with cheaper subscription models.
Your YouTube Premium subscription could be canceled if you purchased it over VPN
For users who prefer an uninterrupted, seamless video experience, YouTube offers a Premium option with rates based on local economic conditions and consumer expectations in the specific locality. Many users who try to find cheaper workarounds have used VPNs to get significantly lower-priced subscriptions to countries like Croatia, Greece, and Ukraine.
The subscription hack has resulted in many users enjoying the facility without paying the due amount for their home market. This might change now with Google allegedly canceling subscriptions with discrepancies.
The possibility of cancellation was highlighted on Reddit via Android Authority after several users expressed that their membership was canceled abruptly and admitted to having used a VPN to access cheaper rates. The Premium subscription is said to work without a VPN once you get a hold of it, and Google is trying to break through this vicious loophole.
Redditors who reached out to customer service shared that they terminated their subscription because users were using a different location from the one they signed up with. Customer service further advised the customers to sign up with their home address and a local card to regain access, which is meant to eliminate any workaround subscriptions.
Nothing has been said about users who have moved to another location facing a similar issue. Still, with Google's crackdown, there is a chance that genuine subscribers could also be impacted by the decision. The company's move seems to be an attempt to ensure that regional pricing policies are intact without any exploitation so that users are paying fair rates. Affected users are left with only one option: if they want to keep reaping the benefits of the premium version, they need to re-subscribe with their actual location.
Companies have long battled users who play a game of pursuit and evasion to avoid paying the actual fees. With Google on the quest to track down consumers who rely on such strategies, users are alerted to take caution when using such workarounds, for the benefits would be short-lived. They would eventually have to pay for a seamless YouTube experience in their region.
