TikTok is getting its own version of YouTube Premium.
Well…kind of.
As you probably know, YouTube Premium originally rolled out as a way for YouTube viewers to access the platform’s house-produced programming–shows like Cobra Kai and the planned Kirsten Dunst series On Becoming a God in Central Florida. But originals didn’t work out for YouTube, so it took another direction with YouTube Premium: one where the main perk is not having to see the ever-growing number (and length) of ads YouTube runs against creators’ content.
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Now, TikTok is following in its footsteps with “TikTok Ad-Free,” a subscription that costs £3.99/month (around ~$5.50).
As the name implies, TikTok Ad-Free will free subscribers from ads on the TikTok app. And, as the price implies, it’s currently available to U.K. users only. (They also have to be 18+ to subscribe.)
Kris Boger, the U.K. Managing Director at TikTok, said the goal with Ad-Free is to “[give] people greater control over their experience” on the platform.
He also tried to preemptively assuage concerns from any advertisers that may worry about their reach shrinking.
“Advertising on our platform is already helping thousands of British businesses reach new customers, increase sales and create jobs,” he said. “Together [with Ad-Free], this ensures we continue to deliver real economic impact while giving our community the flexibility to engage with TikTok in the way that suits them.”
Social media analyst Matt Navarra had a different outlook. He told the BBC that TikTok Ad-Free is another example of a platform “putting a monthly price on stepping outside of the ad-targeting machine” and maintaining personal data privacy.
“We’re moving away from an internet where the deal was you use the app for free but see ads, to one where the deal is increasingly: use the app for free and be profiled for personalised ads or pay to escape them,” he said. “We are heading towards a two-tiered social internet. One version for people who can afford more control and privacy, and another version for everybody else.”
The reason we say TikTok Ad-Free is kind of like YouTube Premium is because Premium offers other perks. While the ad-free portion of it is functionally the same as TikTok’s, it couches that privacy control in with other perks like downloads and background play.
YouTube and TikTok aren’t the only social platforms to introduce zero-ad subscriptions. Instagram has one, Snapchat has one, X has one…But are people willing to pay? Either way, we truly are in the double-whammy era of endless subscriptions and overwhelming ad fatigue.
