- YouTube has started flagging members of Premium Family plans who aren’t living in the same household as the account manager
- A handful of users have reported receiving emails saying that their accounts will be paused, but it’s unclear which regions this applies to
- YouTube’s account-sharing crackdown joins a long line of streaming services that have carried out similar measures, and subscribers aren’t pleased
Since Netflix’s controversial crackdown on password sharing, all the best streaming services have followed suit in some way, and now YouTube is joining them by flagging certain Premium Family plan members.
Similar to location-based crackdowns that detect password sharing, YouTube has started targeting members of its Premium Family plan who aren’t living in the same household as the account manager, which was first reported by Android Police.
A YouTube Premium Family subscription costs $22.99/ £19.99/ AU$22.99 a month, letting you and up to five family members enjoy benefits such as ad-free viewing and YouTube Music. Members have always been required to live in the same household as the account manager, but YouTube hasn’t been strict about it until now – despite conducting electronic checks every 30 days.
Official warnings
Several users have received emails from YouTube, saying that it has detected that they’re using Premium Family in a different location to the account manager. The email says “your YouTube Premium Family membership will be paused”, and warns users that they will lose Premium access after 14 days, after which they will only have access to ad-supported content.
This has raised a lot of questions about the plan’s name, which frustrated users say should be changed to ‘Household Plan’ to align with the official statement in YouTube’s terms and conditions: “All family members must be age 13 or older, have a Google Account and reside in the same household as the family manager”.
Though the crackdown hasn’t reached all Premium Family members yet, and it’s unclear which countries it’s happening in, there have been enough reports to suggest that YouTube is just getting started. If you’re one of the lucky ones who have yet to receive a warning from YouTube, take this as your hint to make the most of the time you may have left.