YouTube Begins Enforcing ‘Same Household’ Rule for YouTube Premium Family Plans
YouTube is reportedly taking steps to enforce a long-standing but rarely policed rule for its YouTube Premium Family plan. Accounts that are part of a family plan but do not reside in the same household as the family manager are now being flagged and are at risk of having their premium benefits paused.
The YouTube Premium Family plan, which currently costs RM41.90 per month in Malaysia, allows a family manager to share a subscription with up to five other members. While the service’s terms have always stipulated that all members must be located in the same household, this rule has historically seen little to no enforcement from the company. However, recent reports from users indicate a shift in YouTube’s approach.
Users who are flagged as not being in the same household are receiving an email notification titled “Your YouTube Premium family membership will be paused.” The email warns that the membership will be paused in 14 days, after which the user will lose their ad-free access, background playback, and other Premium benefits. They will, however, remain a member of the family group and continue to have access to YouTube with ads.
YouTube’s enforcement appears to be tied to its monthly “electronic check-in” process, which verifies that all family members share the same residential address as the family manager. Previously, a failed check-in did not seem to have any consequences, but that is now changing. Flagged users are given the option to contact Google support via a form to confirm their eligibility and avoid the membership pause.
While the crackdown is a significant development, it does not yet appear to be widespread. Scattered reports from users on platforms like Reddit suggest that this new enforcement is still in its early stages. For now, the action seems to be a targeted approach rather than a broad, immediate sweep of all family plans.
