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].


  1. Sonos Community - Unable to play YouTube Music ↩︎ ↩︎

  2. Reddit r/VPN - Getting around YouTube Premium ↩︎

  3. LateNode Community - Why are YouTube users experiencing extremely long, non-skippable advertisements? ↩︎

      • Auster@thebrainbin.org
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        1 day ago

        Checked to confirm, having 22 Peertube instances integrated to Grayjay (platforms aggregator) so not necessarily one communicates with the other, and filtering the contents from the Home tab just by Peertube instances, and indeed most stuff is months old at best.

        However, least for tech content creators, it seems to thrive. Also, if lack of contents is a problem but the person sees potential in the technology, I’d invite the given person to also help producing contents for there. Like the saying goes, if you want change, be the change.

        And also, the more content a platform has, the more inviting it is to others. Expecting it to be as big as youtube but much quicker and organically is a first step to regret, I think.

        • birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          1 day ago

          I mean, there’s Patreon, but that’s American. It’s in San Francisco in California though, which is at least not Trumpland. But with how things are headed, I’d be cautious.

          Liberapay exists, but it uses Paypal, which is even scummier than Visa and Mastercard. Uses Stripe too, which is Irish-American (HQ in both countries).

          If there’s a FOSS decentralised* Patreon alternative that would support Wero, cash, and Monero, I could foreseee that having a ton of potential.

          * with the HQ of development or whatever being in a country that’s resistant against censorship.

          • Auster@thebrainbin.org
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            18 hours ago

            Sure you answered to the right comment? I don’t think the topic of this specific comment thread was payment methods.

      • asudox@lemmy.asudox.dev
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        1 day ago

        Well, since Peertube won’t get ads, I don’t see that happening soon. YouTubers will have to get used to asking for donations and setting up donation accounts.

        …or another solution is cryptocurrencies but that is not very reliable.

    • Zerush@lemmy.mlOP
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      1 day ago

      Maybe in the future, until now not a real alternative by content. For users which want to watch music vids of their favorite band or vids from prefered science channels, movies, etc. it’s not an valid alternative, nor for authors which want to monetize their content. Last prefer Bandcamp, Vimeo, Odysee and other.

      • birdwing@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 day ago

        It won’t become an alternative if we don’t move. I think PeerTube can actually work regarding monetisation - having a decentralised Patreon alternative would help along, for example.

        Vimeo is alright, but it’s US-based. I don’t trust far-right censorship to not creep up there.

        Odysee is good design-wise, but it’s full of hatred. Also, situated in the US.

        Bandcamp, also situated in the US. No thanks.

        • Zerush@lemmy.mlOP
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          1 day ago

          Yes Odysee is also used by right wings, same as YT or others, In Odysee you find all kind of content and political spectrum. It remain in the same, Bandcamp is for music the best alternative also fair with the creators, it’s a good measure to listen most content for free and a optional paid download of tracks or the whole disk, not given in YT. There you can only legal download an video with an premium account and where the money goes to YT, not to the artist as in Bandcaamp. I only hope that the EU offers more alternatives to YT, but until now there is no other as using the less evil alternative and Bandcamp and Odysee are.