On July 15th, iQiyi basic members cannot skip the topic related to the opening advertisement and make it to the hot search on Weibo. On the same day, iQiyi customer service stated to Southern Metropolis Daily reporters that basic members do not support skipping opening advertisements and only support playing on one device simultaneously. On the 16th, the official Weibo account of iQiyi VIP members responded that the launch of basic membership is to provide more choices for users who can accept watching more advertisements but hope for lower prices.
Southern Metropolis Daily reporters have found that iQiyi has repeatedly been criticized by consumers for modifying its membership rights rules and setting complex detailed rules. From complaints such as being banned from logging in on three devices and having only 28 days of monthly membership time, to the lawsuit filed by old users against iQiyi for restricting screen casting, iQiyi has been repeatedly involved in public opinion controversies and has been criticized for "using a doll style membership to fleece consumers".
Basic members cannot skip opening ads
Recently, several netizens complained that iQiyi basic members cannot skip the 120 second advertisement at the beginning of the video, which has sparked heated discussions. Netizens have commented that "eating looks unappealing", "using membership to watch advertisements", "basic members are non members", and some netizens have pointed out that "even gold members will see advertisements in the opening credits and other places".
IQiyi Express Edition displays the difference in benefits between basic members and gold members.
The Southern Metropolis Daily reporter learned that the membership levels of iQiyi, in descending order, are Star Diamond VIP Member, Platinum VIP Member, Gold VIP Member, and Basic Member. The continuous monthly subscription fees start at 25 yuan, 19 yuan, 12 yuan, and 5 yuan respectively. At present, the iQiyi Extreme Version App has a basic membership purchase entrance, while the Non Extreme Version App is randomly placed by the system for internal testing purchase entrance.
Regarding the issue that basic members cannot skip the opening advertisement, on the 15th, iQiyi's official customer service told Southern Metropolis Daily reporters that iQiyi basic members do not support skipping the opening advertisement and only support one device playing simultaneously. However, in terms of movie, drama, variety show, and anime rights, basic members have the same rights as gold VIP members. Users can purchase corresponding membership packages according to their own needs
As for whether gold members can skip all ads, the customer service representative mentioned above stated that gold members can automatically reduce the duration of some opening ads before the video is played. During the use of VIP membership services, users may still encounter commercial advertisements delivered through other means, but they can click the "Close" or "Skip" button on the advertisement page to skip the ad playback.
On the 16th, the official Weibo account of iQiyi VIP members responded to related controversies, stating that basic members were first launched on iQiyi Express Edition in 2021 and are a cheaper membership product than gold members. The purpose is to provide more choices for users who can accept watching more ads but want lower prices. Currently, multiple products such as iQiyi App are gradually being tested and launched. Before purchasing, users can see the price and service differences between basic and gold members on the subscription page, and can choose according to their needs.
Southern Metropolis Daily reporters have noticed that the membership price of iQiyi has gone through several price increases. According to previous reports from Nandu, iQiyi's mobile membership prices were raised twice in November 2020 and December 2021. Taking gold members as an example, in December 2021, the regular monthly subscription membership increased from 25 yuan to 30 yuan, and the continuous monthly subscription membership increased from 19 yuan to 22 yuan, with an increase of about 20% and 15.7% respectively.
In January 2023, iQiyi members announced another price increase, with the regular monthly subscription for gold members remaining unchanged at 30 yuan, and the membership subscription for consecutive months rising to 25 yuan.
Membership benefits rules have been repeatedly criticized
While membership prices have been increasing year by year, iQiyi has repeatedly been criticized by consumers for modifying membership benefits, setting complex rules, and being accused of "overbearing terms".
IQiyi previously limited the screen mirroring clarity of its Gold membership to 480P.
In January last year, the lawsuit filed by old users against iQiyi for restricting screen mirroring caused a stir. The reason was that the screen mirroring clarity of gold members was limited to 480P, and if higher clarity was needed, it had to be upgraded to a higher-level member. Affected by public opinion, on February 20th of the same year, iQiyi restored 720P and 1080P resolution screen casting services for its Gold VIP members.
And the case also saw new developments in July this year. On July 2, the reporter from Nandu learned from the plaintiff that the Beijing Internet Court ruled that the plaintiff enjoyed 720P and 1080P HD rights and interests before July 15, 2025, and iQiyi compensated the plaintiff for 41 days of gold VIP membership.
Southern Metropolis Daily reporters have found that in February 2023 alone, iQiyi was repeatedly involved in public opinion storms due to its offline membership rights transfer function, three devices being banned from logging in, and monthly membership duration being only 28 days, which led to user complaints. It was criticized for "nesting doll style membership to fleece consumers".
On February 2nd of the same year, iQiyi became a hot topic due to membership rights issues. A iQiyi member's account was suspended due to logging in using three devices simultaneously. When users want to unban, they find that the platform requires more expensive members to recharge in order to unban.
IQiyi denies this, stating that there is no need to recharge more expensive members to lift the ban. To protect the security of user accounts and member rights, the platform will temporarily suspend accounts that exceed the service agreement login device limit or have abnormal login and playback situations. This time, due to technical reasons, some users were redirected to the wrong page when clicking on the unlock page. The technical issue has been fixed.
In the same month, several netizens reported that they renewed their monthly membership of iQiyi on February 28, 2023, but the membership was only valid until March 28, 2023, with an actual membership duration of only 28 days, which sparked heated discussions.
On March 2nd, in response to this matter, iQiyi customer service personnel told Southern Metropolis Daily that the monthly membership card service time is calculated based on the natural month, that is, from the date of service activation, and will be extended according to the number of natural months in the activation month. Southern Metropolis Daily reporters consulted with five mainstream domestic video platforms, "Aiyou Tengmang Bilibili", and found that except for iQiyi, all other platforms have clearly defined a monthly membership service period of 31 days.
The restrictive actions taken by iQiyi often face compliance disputes. Taking the iQiyi account suspension incident as an example, iQiyi has clearly stated in the membership agreement that the same VIP account can only be logged in on two devices at the same time. Lawyer Fang Zinan from Global Jingwei Law Firm believes that "the reason for the attention may be because the platform did not strictly follow the user agreement to take measures before, but now it is being executed according to the agreement, resulting in users experiencing unilateral reduction of membership rights
Pre agreement does not necessarily mean that iQiyi's practices are fully compliant, "Fang Zinan further added. The membership service agreement is a standardized contract formulated by the platform." Considering that there are many home media devices at present, the restriction of only supporting logging in to two devices at the same time is difficult to meet the normal needs of users, and the rationality of relevant terms may be challenged. At the same time, device login restrictions will have a serious impact on users' user experience and should be recognized as important terms related to users' purchase of service targets, but iQiyi did not emphasize the relevant provisions in the agreement