According to Reddit user Ihatesmokealarms, when watching videos on the YouTube app on their smartphone, trying to switch to 2160p resolution (4K) triggered a message saying this quality is only available for YouTube Premium subscribers, urging them to upgrade their account.
This post sparked a lot of debate on Reddit. Some users said they could still watch 4K videos on the YouTube app or browser without any restrictions. However, others reported facing the same issue, being asked to subscribe to Premium to access 4K content. This suggests YouTube might be testing this limitation in certain countries or regions rather than rolling it out globally.
In reality, limiting free accounts from 4K videos won’t impact most users much since the majority currently watch videos at HD or 2K quality. Still, some worry YouTube could eventually restrict all high-resolution videos, allowing free users only up to 480p or even lower.
Previously, Netflix launched a free Android plan but capped streaming quality at 480p. It’s possible YouTube could adopt a similar approach to push users toward paid Premium subscriptions.
So far, YouTube has not commented on these user reports on Reddit.
