What I discovered after 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 just lately, after I went with out YouTube Premium for a month. Readers, it was horrible.

For many 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 flexibility to hearken to YouTube audio within the background or use picture-in-picture on any cellular system. 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. Actually, in an effort to chop down on my month-to-month payments, YouTube Premium was among the many first companies I lower.

It took coping with YouTube sans the Premium advantages that really made me perceive simply how worthwhile these options had been to me.

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1 Advert-free dwelling

The largest good thing about all

The marquee function of YouTube Premium is, surely, 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 after I hit play, and with out advert breaks interrupting longer movies. After canceling my subscription, impulsively I used to be uncovered to life with adverts once more, and it was terrible.

It acquired to some extent, after just some days, the place I used to be questioning how anyone may 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 noticed, had been merely used to coping with YouTube that approach. In the meantime, I used to be so accustomed to life with out adverts, that seeing them once more this manner was past grating.

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2 Background audio

The function for multitaskers

Typically, after I’m watching a YouTube video on my cellphone, I will discover one thing I wish to search for shortly on Google or Wikipedia, or I will wish to shortly test my Bluesky feed. That was no downside in any respect after 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 may simply multitask on my cellphone whereas persevering with to pay attention. I may even change my settings to robotically kick movies into picture-in-picture mode whereas doing different issues on my cellphone, good for movies the place the visible element continues to be essential.

As soon as once more, dwelling with this function for therefore lengthy, I began taking it with no consideration. However after 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 test my emails. It took just some days of coping with this annoyance earlier than deciding I would want to re-subscribe as quickly as potential.

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3 Offline movies

Making the commute simpler

I will 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 acquired me to cease taking it with no consideration.

Whereas I could not have used the function continuously, I did use it considerably repeatedly to obtain longer movies so as to proceed viewing them on the subway, which has spotty mobile connection at finest. It took only one commute, the place I noticed 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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