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[1][2].
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[1:1]
- 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[3].
Your probability of remaining anonymous with Google is already slim, but trying to remain anonymous while also using their services has to be near impossible. They are one of the largest advertisers on the Internet, and they have the reach and tech to fingerprint almost everyone.
And it’s also hard for a company to protect profits (remember in the US – capitalism > civil liberties) and comply with all these new regulations if your users are all hiding their locations via VPN.
Social media platforms face huge fines under UK’s new digital safety laws
Also have the ruling of their antitrust case coming up:
Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL) Likely to Avoid Breakup, But Antitrust Remedies Could Hit Core Revenue