YouTube is making a move that’s rubbing a lot of paying users the wrong way: more ads are coming to its Premium Lite subscription — a service people signed up for specifically to avoid them.
Although the change hasn’t gone live yet, YouTube Premium Lite subscribers are already speaking out after receiving emails warning about what’s coming. Starting June 30, 2025, YouTube says ads may start appearing on YouTube Shorts, in addition to the ads already shown on music content and during searches or browsing.
For a plan that costs $7.99/month, this is a frustrating development for many users who feel like they’re now paying for less. Unlike full YouTube Premium, which costs $13.99/month, the Lite version strips out most ads but doesn’t offer perks like offline viewing, video downloads, or background play.
Why People Are Upset
The whole point of Premium Lite was to offer an affordable way to escape YouTube’s increasingly aggressive ad strategy. In recent years, users have noticed not only more ads per video — sometimes two or three back-to-back — but also longer durations and less ability to skip.
With YouTube cracking down on adblockers, users are left with a tough choice: either put up with more ads or pay more to avoid them. For many, Premium Lite was the middle ground. Now, even that’s shifting.
YouTube Is Betting Big on Ads and Shorts
These changes come as YouTube leans harder into advertising and Shorts, its answer to TikTok and Instagram Reels. YouTube made a staggering $36 billion USD in ad revenue in 2024, and it’s clear the company is intent on pushing that number even higher.
Shorts are a big part of that strategy, with creators increasingly encouraged to produce short-form content. But that also means more ad space to sell — and Premium Lite subscribers may start seeing those ads soon.
More Ad Changes Could Be on the Way
YouTube has been constantly experimenting with its ad formats. In May, it began inserting mid-roll ads at “natural break points” — like pauses in speech — to make them feel less jarring. It also introduced a new AI feature called “Peak Points”, which places ads immediately after the most engaging parts of a video, where users are likely to stick around.
With YouTube continuing to test and refine how ads work, it’s likely that Premium Lite will see even more tweaks in the future. For users, that could mean deciding whether to stick with a downgraded ad-free experience or shell out more for full Premium — or leave altogether.