Password sharers beware, it looks like YouTube Premium is the latest streaming service to roll out restrictions on account sharing, following in the footsteps of previous crackdowns on popular platforms including Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, HBO Max and more.
As reported by Android Police, some subscribers to YouTube Premium’s Family plan, which costs $23 per month, have received a notification via email that their benefits will be paused as “it appears you may not be in the same household as your family manager.” The email, sent to Android Police by a reader, notes that Premium benefits will be paused for 14 days.
Paused accounts can still watch YouTube, but will lose Premium features like ad-free streaming, downloading YouTube content for offline viewing and access to YouTube Music. However, YouTube does offer the ability to contact Google support to “confirm eligibility and maintain access” if the user in question believes their Premium account was flagged in error.
Cracking down on account sharing
While the decision to pause Premium access if YouTube detects you are not currently in the same household as the account manager is new, all accounts in a family membership being in the same household has been a requirement since at least 2023. YouTube already implemented a check-in system every 30 days to ensure all accounts under a family plan were in the same household, but until now hadn’t paused Premium access.
A YouTube Premium family plan can comprise up to five separate YouTube accounts, and it doesn’t appear that YouTube has rolled out this crackdown on family plans being shared across households to all users yet. Some YouTube Premium members on a family account split across different locations report no current changes to their access.
As noted, YouTube Premium is far from the first streaming service to seek to get tougher on accounts being used across different households. Netflix started this trend in the summer of 2023 and shortly afterwards claimed to be “completely satisfied” with the results. While there was much grumbling online, the streamer saw a spike in its number of subscribers in the wake of restricting password sharing.
Much like Samsung followed Apple in removing the headphone jack on its flagship mobile phones after its rival had taken the heat for leading the charge, Netflix’s rivals soon followed suit with Prime Video, Disney Plus and HBO Max implementing similar account-sharing restrictions over the past few years. It’s little surprise YouTube Premium is doing the same.
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