Linus Tech Tips says YouTube’s new membership system is cluttering feeds, spamming viewers, and driving fans away so much that they’ve disabled the feature.
Linus Tech Tips is shutting down YouTube’s members-only videos after blasting the platform’s recent changes to the feature. In a video on October 7, Linus Sebastian said YouTube’s updated system is “a gross FOMO sales strategy” that’s flooding recommendations and making the site “unnavigable.”
The feature launched over six years ago as a simple way for viewers to support creators. But according to Sebastian, YouTube has quietly overhauled how it works. It now pushes locked videos into homepages, search results, and suggested feeds for users who can’t even watch them.
“This is not a change that we would have enabled if we were given the choice,” he said. “We wouldn’t have signed up for the program in the first place if we’d known this was coming.
“The most frustrating part of all of this is how utterly lacking in self-awareness YouTube seems to be here.”
To fix it, Linus mentioned that YouTube should add some sort of options menu that allows viewers to hide members-only videos, perhaps making it specific to its Premium subscribers.
“I mean, it would be one thing if there were mechanisms like there are for ads, subject matter, or even for creators to opt out of these promotions as a viewer or if there were exemptions for people who are already paying for YouTube through premium,” he said.
“But at this time, no such mechanisms exist. And I’ve seen no indication from YouTube that they plan to enable creators to go back to controlling the promotion of these.”
Linus Tech Tips to remove all members-only videos
Sebastian confirmed his team will begin removing or hiding every paywalled upload on their channels. Anyone who subscribed for that content will receive a prorated refund, while lower-tier members with badges or emojis will remain unaffected.
He also cited fellow YouTuber DankPods, who shared similar complaints about the program, saying YouTube’s algorithm and lack of creator control have made the feature “messy” and frustrating for viewers.
Despite a spike in member sign-ups since the change, Sebastian said the system has damaged overall viewership and community sentiment. “It’s killing interest in our channel,” he said.
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