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 recognize 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 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 power to hearken to YouTube audio within the background or use picture-in-picture on any cellular machine. The subscription additionally offers subscribers entry to YouTube Music ad-free, and permits downloading movies for offline viewing.

These options could 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 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 advertisements once more.

1 Advert-free dwelling

The most important advantage of all

The marquee function of YouTube Premium is, no doubt, its elimination of advertisements completely 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 advertisements, and I had merely gotten used to movies beginning instantly once I hit play, and with out advert breaks interrupting longer movies. After canceling my subscription, hastily I used to be uncovered to life with advertisements once more, and it was terrible.

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

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YouTube Premium’s most-loved function is its ad-free movies, however there’s one other function I discover myself utilizing loads.

2 Background audio

The function for multitaskers

Generally, once I’m watching a YouTube video on my telephone, I will discover one thing I need to search for shortly on Google or Wikipedia, or I will need to shortly test 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 every audio-centric app, I might simply multitask on my telephone whereas persevering with to pay attention. I might even change my settings to routinely kick movies into picture-in-picture mode whereas doing different issues on my telephone, excellent for movies the place the visible part continues to be necessary.

As soon as once more, dwelling with this function for therefore 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 test 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 doable.

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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 obtained 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 greatest. 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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