Tech Desk 
Sep 13, 2025
In a major step to enforce its rules, YouTube has started to crack down on users who share their Premium accounts with people who are not from their home.
Users have complained that they have received emails informing them that if they do not verify that every member lives at the same address within 15 days, their account access will be terminated.
YouTube's help page states that "Family members sharing a YouTube family plan must live in the same household as the family manager."
Moreover, account managers can include up to five family members in their Premium membership on the platform; however, groups can only be switched once every 12 months.
YouTube has always required family members to live in the same home, but it is now aggressively implementing this requirement.
Users who violate the policy will be immediately demoted to YouTube's ad-supported tier, forfeiting features like offline downloads and ad-free viewing.
YouTube Premium is available to new users for free for a month, but it costs $23 per month.
This enforcement follows a broader pattern in which premium account sharing is being clamped down on by paid services.
Similar measures have been taken by other platforms, such as Netflix, Disney Plus, and Max, in order to recoup lost revenue.
For example, sharing an account with one other person now costs $8 on Max.
According to YouTube, "We are consistently enforcing our family plan policy, which hasn't changed."
