YouTube begins cracking down on premium family plan sharing with location checks
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YouTube is tightening enforcement of its Premium Family subscription rules, targeting users who share access outside a single household.
According to a report from Android Police, the platform has begun flagging accounts where members do not live with the plan manager.
The Premium Family plan allows up to five people to share ad-free YouTube and YouTube Music access. While the policy has always required users to reside under one roof, enforcement was previously lax.
That appears to be changing.
Some users have received warning emails titled “Your YouTube Premium family membership will be paused.” The notice states that Premium access will be revoked within 14 days if YouTube’s system finds a user at a different address from the plan manager.
Flagged members will remain in the family group but will only be able to watch YouTube with ads unless they verify eligibility by contacting Google support.
YouTube reportedly performs an electronic check-in every 30 days to confirm members live at the same address. In the past, this step was not strictly applied, allowing many members outside a household to continue enjoying Premium benefits.
The new enforcement could end access for those living separately.
The move mirrors actions taken by other streaming services. Netflix, for example, previously required members outside one household to start their own accounts, while still allowing travel and verifying devices through IP addresses, device IDs, and account activity.
The stricter enforcement may also push users toward YouTube’s alternative subscription models, including its individual and two-member Premium plans introduced in May. Industry watchers note that Netflix’s crackdown on password sharing boosted its subscriptions, and YouTube may now be aiming for similar results.
