People who subscribe to YouTube Premium now enjoy a fun feature trial. YouTube Premium users can share videos that play without advertisements with each other. This is like letting your friends try a tiny piece of YouTube Premium for free. Right now, only some Premium users in six countries can test this, but it might come to everyone later.
How Does Sharing Ad-Free Videos Work?
The system operates in this easy manner. Subscribers to YouTube Premium who reside in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, or the UK possess access to a specific button when sharing videos. The normal YouTube sharing feature incorporates an exceptional “Share ad-free” option for users.
When you use this button, YouTube creates a magic link. Send this link to your friends (even if they do not pay for Premium), and they can watch the video without any ads. The best part? You can do this up to 10 times every month.
Here’s a Little Secret
Each magic link you send can be watched 10 times in total. So if you send it to five friends, they can each watch it twice. Once a link reaches 10 unique viewers, it becomes nonfunctional even though it counts as only one sharing limit from your monthly allowance. The link functions as just a single part of your monthly 10-share limit, regardless of how often others utilize it.
Who Can Try This Right Now?
Not everyone can use this yet. Premium users from six countries receive the new feature as an experimental version. YouTube Premium users in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and the UK should inspect their YouTube application. You will find the “Share ad-free” button under the “Share” button for videos. Users who see this sharing option belong to the test group.
What Videos Can You Share?
Most videos work, but there are rules. You cannot share music videos, YouTube Originals (like their special shows), Shorts, live streams, or movies. Also, your friends need to be logged into their YouTube accounts on a phone or tablet. If they try to watch on a computer or smart TV, ads will still pop up.
Why Is YouTube Doing This?
YouTube wants more people to buy Premium. Ads help YouTube make money, but some people hate them. By letting Premium users share ad-free videos, YouTube hopes friends will think, “This is awesome. I should get Premium too.”
It is like when ice cream shops give free samples. Individuals who taste chocolate chip cookie dough are likely to purchase the entirety of the product.
What Happens If Things Go Wrong?
Sometimes, the magic link might not work. If your friend sees a “Something went wrong” message, it means either:
- The link was watched 10 times already.
- The link is older than 30 days.
- They’re not logged into YouTube.
Do not panic. You can always share another video if you have shares left.
What People Are Saying About This Feature
Some users love it. A teacher in Canada shared science videos with her students so they could watch without ads. A grandma in Mexico sent cooking tutorials to her grandkids. But others say 10 shares per month is too small. “I have 20 cousins. How do I choose who to share with?” asked one user.
YouTube says they’re listening to feedback. Maybe they’ll increase the number of shares later.
A Fun Example: How Sam Shared a Soccer Video
Let’s say Sam is a soccer fan with YouTube Premium in Brazil. His friend Lena does not have Premium. Sam finds an awesome goal compilation video and uses “Share ad-free” to send it to Lena.
After logging into her YouTube profile, Lena watches a full, advertisement-free video through the link. The video has become so enjoyable to her that she has watched it completely three times. This uses up three of the 10 views on Sam’s link. The link gets distributed to four additional friends by Sam later on. The link functions until 10 viewing uses are reached, at which point its operation stops.
Lena has discovered how beneficial watching YouTube without ads can be. The experience may lead her to purchase Premium from YouTube.
YouTube’s Bigger Plan
Premium popularity enhancement is one objective behind YouTube’s implementation of this testing system. Recently, they added features like offline downloads and special music perks. The company knows ads annoy people, but they need to make money. By giving small treats like ad-free sharing, they hope to turn free users into paying fans.
Only time will tell if this works. For now, if you are in the test group, enjoy sharing ad-free videos. And if you’re not? Maybe ask a Premium friend to send you a link.