Google is adopting a variety of different strategies to increase YouTube revenue, including restricting users who turn on ad-blocking software from watching videos, putting more free features behind paywalls, and attracting users to sign up for YouTube Premium subscriptions.
However, due to market strategies and exchange rate issues in different regions, many users cross regions to low-price areas to open YouTube Premium subscriptions. It seems that Google would rather forcefully cancel user subscriptions than continue cross-region low-price subscriptions.
Google has been cracking down on cross-region subscriptions since 2025. At that time, subscriptions opened through local virtual credit cards would be canceled. However, I didn’t expect that Google would now also cancel subscriptions opened through Apple IAP in-app purchases.
In the past, cross-region subscriptions through Apple IAP were considered a safe zone, because the overall settlement was completed through Apple, and users did not need to find ways to open virtual cards in low-price areas and make up billing addresses to activate them, so IAP subscriptions were also very popular.
The regions affected by the withdrawal are mainly India, Turkey, Nigeria and other regions. Due to pricing and exchange rate issues, these regions are well-known low-price areas for global network services, so they attract many users to cross-region to open subscriptions.
Google stated in the notification email that if the user leaves the country/region where the YouTube Premium or YouTube Music Premium membership service was purchased for more than 6 months, YouTube may suspend the membership service.
Google will send a notification one month before the service is suspended. At this time, the user needs to log in again locally (referring to the area of subscription), otherwise the paid membership will be suspended. Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is recommended that users still watch with local IP, so that the probability of overturning is relatively low.