What you need to know
- YouTube Premium Lite starts rolling out background play and downloads for “most videos” on the platform.
- The platform states this has started rolling out where Lite is available today (Feb 24) and will continue over the “coming weeks.”
- YouTube Premium Lite launched last March for $7.99, but notably lacked these two features it’s receiving today.
YouTube Premium’s been making moves recently, but its latest update early this week signifies additions for its cheaper subscription plan.
In a blog post, YouTube announced that its Premium Lite tier is receiving two new capabilities for subscribers. The platform states Lite subscribers will notice Background Play and Downloads available through their subscription very soon. Background Play is pretty straightforward; users can view 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 states this applies to “most videos.” It clarifies this by saying these capabilities extend to “most non-music content, excluding Shorts. Ads may appear when you search or browse.” For the most part, everything should be pretty quick and snappy, getting you into content quicker without much bother.
YouTube states that these features will begin rolling out for Lite subscribers today (Feb 24) and over the “coming weeks” everywhere Premium Lite is available. It states that it will continue “testing and building products that best meet our users’ needs.” If users are interested in cutting ads out entirely across more video content on YouTube, that’s when the platform points you toward the larger Premium plan.
Premium Lite doesn’t have to be a compromise
YouTube bringing up its continued “testing” for Premium Lite is a little funny, only because the platform had been testing it for months before its launch. One major difference between its tests and its launch was that Premium Lite first featured ads. But this in itself was a flip-flop decision, as its pilot testing program in 2023 didn’t have ads. This secondary test in 2024 was only conducted in a few countries, to gauge user reception, one might guess.
Several months later, in March 2025, YouTube officially launched Premium Lite in the U.S. for $7.99 a month. Ads from videos were gone, but only for content that didn’t involve music. Users notably missed out on other welcome features, such as background play and downloads, which YouTube is finally delivering today.
Android Central’s Take
I remember when this talk about Premium Lite was going around due to YouTube’s tests. I found it strange that, here it is, a subscription plan that you’re paying for that still includes ads. That test YouTube ran for a limited selection of countries must’ve also given it a similar sentiment as what I’ve just said. A free tier should probably include ads, as it’s a reliable way to sustain the platform. But if you’re paying for something—paying for a service such as streamed content—shouldn’t you forget ads existed?
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