YouTube is upgrading its Premium Lite subscription by adding several features previously limited to the full Premium plan.
In 2025, the platform introduced Premium Lite as a $7.99 option that removed most ads, though ads still appear on music videos, Shorts, and during browsing or search.
At launch, Lite subscribers didn’t have access to downloads or background play — benefits reserved for the $13.99 Premium tier. That is now changing.
Following user feedback, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan announced that background play and offline downloads for most videos will begin rolling out to Premium Lite members in the coming weeks. The update is designed to give subscribers more flexibility in how they use the platform.
However, Shorts and music content remain excluded from these new perks, meaning users will still need the full Premium plan to download or play those in the background.
Premium Lite also continues to lack additional features such as Continue Watching, Jump Ahead, queueing, and enhanced audio and video quality. YouTube says the rollout of the new Lite features will happen gradually over the next few weeks.