The cheap Lite version of YouTube Premium gets more for ‘more videos’
What you need to know
- YouTube Premium Lite begins to exclude background playback and downloading of “multiple videos” on the platform.
- The platform says that this has started rolling out to Lite users today (Feb 24) and will continue “over the coming weeks.”
- YouTube Premium Lite was launched last March for $7.99, but it doesn’t have the two features you get today.
YouTube Premium has been rocking lately, but its latest update earlier this week means additions to its cheaper subscription plan.
In a blog post, YouTube announced that its Premium Lite tier is getting two new features for subscribers. The platform says Lite subscribers will see Background Play and downloads available via subscription soon. Background playback is straightforward; users can watch their videos without ads, offline, and in the background on their devices.
When it comes to these new additions to the subscription plan, YouTube Premium says this applies to “most videos.” It clarifies this by saying that this power extends to “most non-musical content, excluding Short. Ads may appear when you search or browse.” For the most part, everything should be quick and fast, getting you into the content quickly without much hassle.
YouTube says the features will begin rolling out to Lite subscribers today (Feb 24) and “in the coming weeks” everywhere Premium Lite is available. It says it will continue to “test and build products that best meet the needs of our users.” If users are interested in completely reducing ads for all the content of many videos on YouTube, then the platform points you to the large Premium plan.
Premium Lite doesn’t have to be a compromise
YouTube brings its ongoing “testing” of Premium Lite is ridiculous, only because the platform tested it months before it was launched. The main difference between its testing and its launch is that Premium Lite started to include ads. But this itself was a flip-flop decision, as was its plan to test pilot in 2023 you had no ads. This second test in 2024 is only carried out in a few countries, to measure the acceptance of users, one might guess.
A few months later, in March 2025, YouTube officially launched Premium Lite in the US for $7.99 per month. Ads from videos are gone, but only for content that doesn’t include music. Users have notably missed out on other welcome features, such as background playback and downloads, which YouTube is finally bringing today.
Android Central Take
I remember when this talk about Premium Lite was going on because of YouTube testing. I found it strange that, here it is, a subscription plan to pay so it still includes ads. That test YouTube used in a few selected countries must have given the same feelings as what I just mentioned. The free category should probably include ads, as it is a reliable way to support the platform. But if you’re paying for something—paying for a service like streaming content—shouldn’t you forget that the ads were there?
