YouTube confirms expansion of Premium Lite to five more countries

YouTube just confirmed that its Premium Lite subscription is coming to five more countries. This moves the ad-free viewing option into Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Great Britain. The rollout began on May 19 and will continue over the next few days.

This expansion follows a pilot program that first launched in the US back in March. Shortly after that, YouTube also announced that it’s rolling out Premium Lite to users in Australia, Thailand, and Germany. The service aims to offer a more affordable way to watch videos without most ads. For $7.99 a month, users get ad-free viewing on YouTube and YouTube Kids. This covers a wide range of content, from gaming and fashion to news and beauty.

The update came in a reply by Hazel, YouTube’s Community Manager, under the original expansion post. She said the rollout would happen “over the next couple days,” and pointed users to the Premium Lite landing page to check availability. That page has all the details on supported devices and the kinds of videos covered.

However, Premium Lite does have some limitations. Ads might still pop up on music videos, Shorts, and when you’re searching or just Browse. It is also important to remember that this lighter version of Premium does not include YouTube Music Premium. You also won’t get features like downloads or background play. Those are still exclusive to the full YouTube Premium subscription.

As the rollout completes over the next couple of days, keep an eye on your YouTube settings if you live in one of the newly added regions. If you see the option pop up, you can try it risk-free for the first month and decide if it’s worth the switch.