Hey there, busy professionals! Have you heard about YouTube’s recent crackdown on its Premium Family plans? It’s time to pay attention because this could impact your viewing experience! The platform is now enforcing a long-standing rule that requires all family plan members to live at the same address as the primary account holder.
For those unfamiliar, the YouTube Premium Family plan is available for $23 per month in the US and Rs. 299 in India. It allows you and up to five family members to enjoy ad-free videos and YouTube Music. Sounds great, right? But here’s the catch: everyone in the family plan needs to reside at the same location. While this requirement has been around for some time, YouTube has recently ramped up enforcement, and it could affect how you share your subscription with family or friends.
Many users have already reported receiving alarming emails with the subject line “Your YouTube Premium family membership will be paused.” If this applies to you, be warned! The email states that your membership could be suspended in just 14 days if YouTube detects that you’re not living at the same address as the family manager. If that happens, you’ll still be part of the family group, but you’ll lose those coveted Premium features and revert back to the ad-supported version of YouTube.
YouTube has been conducting a 30-day “electronic check-in” to verify locations, but up until now, there haven’t been many consequences for failing this check. This new enforcement indicates that YouTube is serious about closing loopholes that have allowed friends living in different cities—or even countries—to share a single subscription plan.
This policy shift comes on the heels of YouTube testing a two-person Premium plan, making it clear that they want subscribers to pay individually rather than skirting the rules of the Family plan. While the crackdown is not yet widespread, some users have already lost access after receiving the 14-day warning.
It’s not the first time YouTube has upset its users. Last year, they rolled out unskippable ads, tested ad-blocker detection, and even experimented with increasing Premium pricing in select regions. It seems like this stricter household rule is just another move in their strategy to tighten up revenue streams.
As a busy professional, you might want to keep an eye on your inbox if you’re on a Family plan with members in different households. That 14-day warning email could be coming your way before you know it!
