Article Hero Image
AppleInsider may earn an affiliate commission on purchases made through links on our site.
Following multiple reports that YouTube was planning to charge viewers to watch 4K videos, the company has called it an experiment that has now been "turned off."
As previously reported, a number of YouTube users were being blocked from watching videos in 4K quality. While it did not affect all users, those who were blocked also saw a message saying 4K was a Premium feature that needed them to upgrade.
YouTube then confirmed that there were a number of users being shown an experiment "to know better the feature preferences [of] Premium and non-Premium viewers." Now, however, it has responded to users on Twitter, saying that the experiment is over.
we've fully turned off this experiment. viewers should now be able to access 4K quality resolutions without Premium membership. we're here if you have other q's
— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) October 17, 2022
YouTube has not commented further, however. So it is not clear yet whether the company has abandoned the plan or is still evaluating the results and, presumably, the online backlash it received.
