Summary
- YouTube is enforcing its family-plan rule: members must be in the same household or Premium access may be paused.
- YouTube is emailing suspected off-site members: access will be paused in 14 days if not same household.
- This feels like a downgrade for sharers; now consider if the $23 family plan still delivers value.
YouTube Premium is one of the best values in streaming today with the $23 per month family plan option allowing users to share ad-free YouTube with up to five accounts, which shakes out to less than $5 a month per person. And while YouTube Premium Family has always had a rule about family members needing to be in the same household, this policy has never really been enforced, so if a user wanted to share an account with a brother or auntie across town, doing so was very easy in the past. However, it looks like the good times have come to an end as the streamer has been sending out the following email this week to accounts that have been identified as being part of a family plan but not physically located in the same household as the family manager account:
“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. Once your access is paused, you will remain in your family group and be able to watch YouTube with ads, but will no longer have YouTube Premium benefits.”
This crackdown seems to be rolling out in phases (similar to how Disney+ and Netflix have enforced their own household rules) and if you share a Premium Family Plan and haven’t received a notification yet, you will probably get one in the next few days.
This isn’t a new policy, but it still feels like a downgrade
What are you still getting for $23 per month?
In a statement to CNET regarding the change, a YouTube spokesperson reiterated that this is not technically a new development, saying, “Our family plan policy hasn’t changed, and we are continuously enforcing it.” Still, this feels like a huge downgrade for those who have gotten used to having access to premium plans for several years, and are now being unceremoniously kicked off. Though I don’t subscribe to YouTube Premium’s family plan, the idea that I couldn’t share my account outside my house would also have me looking real hard at that $23 per month subscription fee and wondering if it is still a good value if I can’t share it with the maximum allowed amount of people.
YouTube has been testing a two-household plan that would offer a discount for those who want to share accounts in other regions but so far no plans have been announced regarding bringing this option to the US.
