What I discovered once I canceled YouTube Premium

I have been a subscriber to YouTube Premium since 2017, and through that point I did not fairly respect how good I had it. That’s, till not too long ago, once I went with out YouTube Premium for a month. Readers, it was horrible.

For individuals who do not know, YouTube Premium is a subscription service from YouTube that primarily does two issues: Give subscribers an ad-free YouTube expertise, in addition to the power to take heed to YouTube audio within the background or use picture-in-picture on any cell gadget. The subscription additionally offers subscribers entry to YouTube Music ad-free, and permits downloading movies for offline viewing.

These options might not sound like a lot, particularly for a subscription that prices $14 per month for a person, or $23 for a household of 5. In actual fact, in an effort to chop down on my month-to-month payments, YouTube Premium was among the many first providers I minimize.

It took coping with YouTube sans the Premium advantages that truly made me perceive simply how useful these options have been to me.

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There’s only one reason to keep paying for YouTube Premium

I can by no means return to watching YouTube with adverts once more.

1 Advert-free dwelling

The largest good thing about all

The marquee characteristic of YouTube Premium is, indisputably, its elimination of adverts fully from the YouTube expertise. That is the principle promoting level for the service, and it is an enormous deal. For all these years I used to be subscribed to Premium, I didn’t encounter adverts, and I had merely gotten used to movies beginning immediately once I hit play, and with out advert breaks interrupting longer movies. After canceling my subscription, unexpectedly I used to be uncovered to life with adverts once more, and it was terrible.

It obtained to some extent, after only a few days, the place I used to be questioning how anyone might put up with all of the adverts, with as many as two or three taking part in earlier than a video barely longer than the adverts themselves. Most individuals, I spotted, have been merely used to coping with YouTube that manner. In the meantime, I used to be so accustomed to life with out adverts, that seeing them once more this fashion was past grating.

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More people should use this lesser-known YouTube Premium feature

YouTube Premium’s most-loved characteristic is its ad-free movies, however there’s one other characteristic I discover myself utilizing rather a lot.

2 Background audio

The characteristic for multitaskers

Generally, once I’m watching a YouTube video on my cellphone, I am going to discover one thing I wish to lookup rapidly on Google or Wikipedia, or I am going to wish to rapidly examine my Bluesky feed. That was no downside in any respect once I had YouTube Premium. If I went away from the YouTube app, the audio from the video I used to be watching would preserve taking part in.

This was particularly nice for longer movies and podcasts hosted on YouTube. Simply as with all audio-centric app, I might simply multitask on my cellphone whereas persevering with to hear. I might even change my settings to robotically kick movies into picture-in-picture mode whereas doing different issues on my cellphone, excellent for movies the place the visible part continues to be essential.

As soon as once more, dwelling with this characteristic for thus lengthy, I began taking it with no consideration. However once I canceled my Premium subscription, I found simply how annoying it’s for the audio to cease taking part in every time I go away the app, even only for a second to answer to a message or examine my emails. It took only a few days of coping with this annoyance earlier than deciding I would wish to re-subscribe as quickly as attainable.

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3 Offline movies

Making the commute simpler

I am going to admit, saving movies for offline viewing was by no means one of many options I made heavy use of, however like the larger options of YouTube Premium, dwelling with out it obtained me to cease taking it with no consideration.

Whereas I’ll not have used the characteristic continually, I did use it considerably frequently to obtain longer movies as a way to proceed viewing them on the subway, which has spotty mobile connection at finest. It took only one commute, the place I spotted I could not watch a video as a result of I had no sign, that I knew I wanted YouTube Premium again.

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