Youtube may limit access to 4K videos only for Premium users

Google-owned video streaming platform YouTube might reportedly limit access to 4K videos to only users of its Premium service.

According to MacRumors, some users on Reddit and Twitter mentioned that they have started to notice that on iOS, and presumably across other platforms also.

However, not all users are seeing the 4K quality option blocked behind YouTube's paywall, and it is unclear if YouTube plans to move forward with this.


A standard YouTube Premium plan costs $11.99 in the US and includes ad-free videos, background playback, and the ability to download videos for offline viewing.

The platform recently said it is testing a new feature in its mobile app with its Premium subscribers that allows them to zoom in on any video.

The latest opt-in experimental feature enables a pinch-to-zoom gesture for videos -- and it works both in portrait and full-screen landscape view.

To enable pinch to zoom, open YouTube's settings menu either on your phone or from the website. If you are subscribed to YouTube Premium, there should be a "try new features" section.