YouTube Premium: Family plan benefits pause for members not at home address

YouTube is stepping up enforcement of its Premium Family plan policy, pausing accounts shared across households; the move follows similar crackdowns by Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon

YouTube is said to be tightening enforcement of its Premium Family plan policy by pausing access for users who share accounts outside their registered household. As reported by CNET, several subscribers have received alerts stating their Premium privileges would be suspended for fourteen days due to violations of family plan rules.

 

A YouTube spokesperson told CNET: “Our family plan policy hasn’t changed and we are continuously enforcing it.” According to the platform’s support page, family members on a Premium plan must live in the same household as the account manager, and groups can only be reconfigured once every twelve months.

 

What has happened?

As reported by CNET, some YouTube Premium members are now finding their ad-free access temporarily suspended, though they can continue to use YouTube and YouTube Music with advertisements.

 

The suspension occurs when YouTube detects that members of a family plan are not located in the same household as the account manager. While this stricter enforcement is new, the requirement itself isn’t. YouTube has stated since at least 2023 that all members of a Premium family plan must live in the same household. Until now, however, enforcement was relatively relaxed. The company did occasionally prompt users to confirm they lived at the same address, but these location check-ins were infrequent and rarely led to penalties.

   

Each YouTube Premium family plan can cover up to five separate accounts. At present, the enforcement does not appear to be uniform. As highlighted by Tom’s Guide, some subscribers using family plans across different locations report that their access remains unaffected.

YouTube follows industry peers

The move places YouTube alongside other streaming giants that have already clamped down on account sharing. Netflix was one of the first major platforms to take action against password sharing. The company rolled out strict household-based verification measures in 2023. Subscribers were required to set a primary household location, and devices outside of that location would either need to log in through a verification code or prompt users to pay an additional fee for extra members.

 

Disney Plus has also begun limiting password sharing, first in select markets before expanding its restrictions. Amazon, meanwhile, is phasing out its Prime Invitee program — a feature that allowed non-household members to share Prime benefits such as free shipping. Starting October 1, only those within the same household will be able to access Prime features under a single subscription.