Sure, then stop paying for it when they start showing ads in premium. It's a monthly subscription.

Not paying for it because it might become bad some time in the future is not a great argument.

So what's your argument? That YouTube shouldn't exist, or that it should be a charity? Something else?

How about advertising without the tracking? Advertising not shown specifically to me because of any attributes Google thinks apply to me? Advertising limited to a 5s lead in at the start of the video (today, this video is sponsored by …) and a static banner hidden when going full-screen. Advertising held to high standards, and advertising which can be vetoed by the video's uploader. In short, ethical advertising.

Google can surely figure this out and still turn a profit on Youtube. Greed stops them from doing this.

Google almost certainly doesn't turn a profit on YouTube now. It would unquestionably lose billions of dollars a year with the advertising you want.

Why? Surely knowing the content of the video gives them enough context to serve advertising relevant to the viewer without tracking.

At the very least they could guarentee that YouTube Premium tracking doesn't get used for profiling later. I think that would be a very acceptable solution but they don't offer it.

You pay but you're still snooped on.

Both sound like good options to me. Split it up or turn it into a nonprofit. Although I suppose the former would man paying 15 bucks to each baby YouTube, so maybe not.

> So what's your argument? That YouTube shouldn't exist, or that it should be a charity? Something else?

I've been thinking about it for a long time (years). I don't really have the right words for my thoughts, and I think charity is probably closest.

But yes, at this point, I think that many "free" services should be charities to prevent them from being corrupted by rugpulls.

I’m a Premium subscriber. If they show me a single ad I will unsubscribe immediately.

That’s the thing about modern capitalism. Making profit isn’t enough, the profit has to keep growing. So once the market is saturated, you either reduce perks, jack up prices, bundle new features to jack up prices (my GSuite bills doubled in ~3 years before I went in and adjusted the plan; the latest price hike “reflects the significant added AI value”), or find new ways to monetize the same users (ads, “partners”, etc.). It’s inevitable.