Credit: Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- YouTube appears to be running a new experiment
- The test involves paywalling its popular playback speed feature.
- The test separates users into two categories: one where the feature is still free and the other where playback speed is a Premium feature.
Update: January 27, 2026 (9:47 AM ET): A Google spokesperson has informed Android Authority that it’s unclear what the exact situation is for this specific user. However, YouTube users without Premium can still access playback speeds up to 2x and adjust the speed in 0.05 increments. Meanwhile, Premium users can play videos at speeds up to 4x.
The spokesperson adds that the company often runs experiments to specifically highlight premium features to non-subscribers as a way to encourage trying out Premium. It’s possible this user may be seeing a prompt to sign up for Premium in order to use speeds above 2x.