Benefits may be paused for members not living in the same household.
YouTube is tightening enforcement of its Premium Family Plan rules, echoing Netflix’s earlier crackdown on password sharing. The platform has begun notifying users that Premium benefits may be paused if family members are found living outside the same household.
Users have reported receiving emails titled “Your YouTube Premium family membership will be paused,” highlighting that all members must reside at the same address as the account’s family manager. Non-compliant users have 14 days to update their information before losing Premium access. While they remain in the family group, their account reverts to the ad-supported version.
The Premium Family plan, priced at ₹299/month in India, allows one manager and five additional members access to ad-free videos, YouTube Music, downloads, and background play. Although the “same household” rule has always existed, YouTube previously enforced it loosely-until now.
The platform now uses monthly electronic check-ins based on location and account data to confirm eligibility. In the past, failing these checks had little impact, but YouTube is now acting on them decisively.
This policy shift coincides with YouTube testing a two-person Premium plan, targeting couples or roommates who don’t meet the traditional “family” definition.
With this move, YouTube is clearly pushing users to switch from shared access to valid, paid subscriptions.
Impacted users now have three choices:
- Join a compliant household plan
- Switch to an individual or smaller plan
- Continue with free, ad-supported YouTube.
