YouTube Premium users may soon find themselves cut off if they’re sharing their family plan outside of their household as the platform begins enforcing long-standing rules in a Netflix-style crackdown.
Subscribers who share a YouTube Premium or YouTube Music family plan with people at different addresses have started receiving warning emails. According to Android Police, the notices state that memberships will be paused within 14 days if all members don’t comply with YouTube’s household policy.
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The email reads: “Your YouTube Premium family membership requires all members to be in the same household as the family manager. It appears you may not be in the same household as your family manager, and your membership will be paused in 14 days.”
Losing Premium means subscribers can still use YouTube and YouTube Music, but only with ads and without extra features.
YouTube takes aim at password sharing
The enforcement mirrors Netflix’s controversial password-sharing crackdown, which blocked non-household members from using accounts unless they paid for additional slots.
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YouTube first rolled out its same-household requirement in 2023, but this marks the clearest sign yet that it’s ramping up enforcement.
Unsplash: Ella Don/YouTube
Despite the wave of warning emails, YouTube insists nothing has officially changed. A spokesperson told CNET: “Our family plan policy hasn’t changed and we are continuously enforcing it.”
Still, the move comes as YouTube faces backlash over Premium price hikes. In some cases, families pay close to $500 annually for access to ad-free videos and music, a steep cost that makes sharing accounts an appealing workaround.
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The password-sharing crackdown is just the latest controversy surrounding Premium. The Google-owned platform has also faced criticism over alleged hidden “restricted content” in search results, which it denies.
Between rising prices and tighter restrictions, many subscribers could soon be asking whether YouTube Premium is still worth the cost.