YouTube Premium Lite: hidden ads appear behind the price!

YouTube video hosting has announced significant changes to the terms of its most affordable tariff plan - Premium Lite. Now, users who subscribe to this tariff will have to watch ads while watching short videos (Shorts) on the platform from June 30, 2025. The company officially confirmed this change in a special notification sent to subscribers via email.

"Dear user, starting from June 30, 2025, we would like to inform you about a new change. Starting from this date, YouTube Shorts short videos may show ads for content other than music videos during search and viewing. But rest assured, our main long videos will still not be interrupted by ads," Google said in an official letter.

The YouTube Premium Lite tariff plan was first presented to the general public in March 2025. Its most important feature is that it offers the ability to watch videos without ads for just $ 7.99 (about 630 rubles) per month. However, this tariff plan did not include the YouTube Music platform. It only allowed you to turn off ads for videos. Now this plan is starting to partially lose its main feature.

According to the new changes, now these subscribers will have to watch ads while watching YouTube Shorts short videos. Also, Premium Lite users will be required to switch to YouTube's standard Premium tariff plan to watch videos without commercial breaks.

Recall that in the US, the standard YouTube Premium tariff plan costs $ 13.99 (about 1300 rubles) per month. One of the important features included in this plan is the ability to watch both Shorts short videos and long-term content without ads, with complete convenience. In addition, the Premium plan also offers a subscription to the YouTube Music app, which allows users to listen to music without unnecessary ads.

YouTube is said to be trying to increase its revenue by increasing the number of ads for content on its main platform. This may cause unrest and protests among many Premium Lite subscribers. Because subscribers of this tariff plan preferred to subscribe to the service for a significant amount of money in order not to encounter ads while watching videos.

According to some analysts, this change is also likely to be a cunning marketing strategy used by the YouTube platform to force its subscribers to switch to the more expensive standard Premium plan.

It is also worth noting that the Premium Lite tariff will still retain the ability to watch a large number of long videos without ads. However, the appearance of ads on short videos may also lead to a decrease in interest and demand for this tariff plan. In this case, YouTube management is likely to closely monitor the reaction of users after this change and subsequently make new decisions.

The increase in advertising on YouTube, one of the most popular platforms for Internet users today, will undoubtedly affect the general mood of users and the impressions they get from the platform. As a result of these changes, some users may be willing to spend additional money for ad-free content, while others are likely to perceive it as an additional cost.

How this decision of Google is perceived by users may seriously affect YouTube's policy in this regard. If this decision is met with a negative response, it is possible that the company will reconsider its decision.

In short, subscribers to YouTube's cheapest tariff plan - Premium Lite - will soon face ads in short videos. This change is part of YouTube's marketing policy, and the reaction of users to this change may determine the company's pricing strategy in the future. The whole world is watching this process with great interest.