I’ve been a YouTube Premium subscriber for many years now, ever since the Premium Family plan became available in Lebanon when I was living there. Other subscriptions have come and gone in that time, but not YouTube; it’s the one monthly payment I gladly make because I know it supports creators I like and saves me hours of frustration with endless ads on every device my husband and I own.
But YouTube Premium isn’t perfect. Every few months, I’ll hear about a new experiment or new feature exclusive to Premium users, and think, “Gah, this isn’t what I want!” If it were up to me, YouTube would add more robust controls and customizations and offer them to Premium subscribers, instead of wasting time reinventing the wheel with a new comment page look or silly autoplay and Shorts hooks. Specifically, there are five features I wish YouTube would add that I’d be willing to pay more for. Here they are.