YouTube Premium is almost perfect - but I hope it gets these 5 upgrades in 2026

I love YouTube Premium - but it still needs these 5 upgrades in 2026 to make it perfect Opinion YouTube's incognito mode brings back the adverts(Image credit: Future) The YouTube Recap for 2025(Image credit: Future) YouTube could be more like Plex(Image credit: Plex) Netflix Moments(Image credit: Netflix) Plenty of YouTube add-ons are available, including Enhancer for YouTube(Image credit: Enhancer for YouTube) David Nield published How the best digital subscription can get better If you're a long-time TechRadar reader then you'll know that I've previously written about how great YouTube Premium is . It's probably the last digital subscription I'd give up, and that includes the likes of Netflix and my Google cloud storage - that's how much value I get from my £12.99 a month ($13.99 in the US, and AU$16.99 in Australia). I won't go into detail again about everything that I love about YouTube Premium, but never having to sit through a single ad transforms the viewing experience - sign up for a free trial or test the service for a month and you'll see what I mean. Once you go back to the ad-supported tier, it's incredibly jarring. There are a whole host of extra bonuses too, including the ability to download videos to devices for offline viewing, and background playback on mobile (so you can keep listening to videos while you use other apps). YouTube Music Premium is included too, so you don't really need a separate music streaming subscription. However, that doesn't mean YouTube Premium is perfect - not yet - and I do have some feature requests that would make the service even more appealing, and perhaps attract another swath of subscribers. Just in case there's anyone from the YouTube team reading, here's what else I'd like to see. 1. A proper incognito mode Switching to Incognito mode at the browser level is a really useful way to watch videos without leaving a trace on your viewing history or recommendations, but if you're a YouTube Premium subscriber you'll notice one problem: the ads come back. This is even true for the incognito mode that comes built in as an option in the Android and iOS apps. If I'm paying for YouTube Premium, I don't want to see ads, not even in incognito mode - this is a feature that should be available on the desktop and on mobile for subscribers. That way I can listen to chilled out, lo-fi beats in the background all day while I'm working, and not then get a huge number of similar videos appear in my recommendations. 2. More detailed viewing stats I'm a big fan of stats in all forms, and the YouTube Recap that was introduced for the first time this year is certainly an interesting look back on your last 12 months of viewing on the platform: it's available to everyone, Premium subscribers or otherwise, and it gives you a quick and simple breakdown of the channels and types of videos you watched the most. Sign...

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