Dashia is the consumer insights editor for CNET. She specializes in data-driven analysis and news at the intersection of tech, personal finance and consumer sentiment. Dashia investigates economic ...

Google continues to turn the screws on free YouTube users, expanding a test that restricts access to song lyrics on YouTube Music. Users without a premium subscription have found that Google’s ...

YouTube Music has started restricting access to song lyrics for users on its free plan, according to several reports. Google had earlier tested lyrics as a feature reserved for paid subscribers in ...

UPDATE: Feb. 10, 2026, 3:40 p.m. EST After publication, YouTube clarified that the lyrics restriction is part of a limited experiment affecting only a small percentage of ad-supported users. YouTube ...

Google seems to be quietly moving YouTube Music lyrics behind a paywall for more users, turning a basic app feature into a Premium-only perk. Free users now get just five lyric views before the rest ...

YouTube Music has started putting lyrics — a previously free feature introduced in 2020 — behind a paywall, according to multiple users and 9to5Google. In the latest update, the "Lyrics" tab in the ...