YouTube is reminding subscribers with a Family Plan that sharing with users outside of the household is not allowed.
Users with YouTube Premium or YouTube Music accounts who are sharing their accounts with others outside of their home are receiving emails alerting them that their accounts are being paused for 14 days.
Android Police shared the email, which says: “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.”
A YouTube Premium account offers unlimited ad-free videos, background viewing to keep playing videos while you’re using other apps, and allows users to download videos to watch offline. With YouTube Premium, you’ll also get uninterrupted access to stream music on the YouTube Music app.
Here are the guidelines for Family plans, outlined on a YouTube support page:
The family manager can invite up to 5 family members to join a family group. To join a family group sharing a YouTube family plan, you must:
- Have a Google account. If you have a Google Workspace account, you’ll need to create or sign in to a regular Google account.
- Live within the same residential address as the family manager.
- Live in a country or region where YouTube Premium, YouTube Music Premium, or Primetime Channels are available.
- Not be part of another family group.
- Have not switched family groups in the last 12 months.
Under a section about location requirements, YouTube says:
To be eligible to share a YouTube family membership, each family members must live at the same residential address as the family manager. Every 30 days, an electronic check-in will confirm this requirement.
Most users haven’t had issues, even when failing to do the check-in from the Family Manager’s home address, until now.
YouTube is testing a new two-person subscription tier that would allow two people to share a paid account, for those who want to share a plan with someone outside of their household.
YouTube Premium and Music accounts cost $22.99 per month, after a one-month free trial.