Based on recent reports, YouTube is actively restricting access to Premium accounts created through VPNs and cracking down on users accessing Premium content across different regions. According to user discussions, YouTube now detects and blocks VPN connections when attempting to stream Premium content[1][2].
Some key impacts:
- Users report being unable to play YouTube Music through Sonos speakers when using a VPN, with the service becoming accessible only after bypassing VPN connections[1:1]
- Premium subscribers attempting to access content from different regions than their subscription face connection errors and service disruptions
- The restrictions appear to be part of YouTube’s broader strategy to enforce regional content licensing and subscription terms
The crackdown coincides with YouTube’s increased focus on Premium subscriptions, including showing longer unskippable ads to free users in 2025 to drive Premium adoption[3].
At least on Brave you don’t have to use an account (which Mozilla hasn’t figured out yet) to synchronize your bookmarks, extensions and settings. And mind you that you can disable all the controversial things.
It’s true. I use Brave as well. They have several novel privacy features that no one else does. And although the company has a checkered history, I still think it’s the best (for now). I just wish more FOSS devs would take notes and implement these privacy features in other browsers.