YouTube might block Premium membership benefits if family not in same address

YouTube has started flagging accounts that are part of the family plan but don’t share the same address as the family manager.

Like most other popular OTT platforms, the video streaming platform has a YouTube Family Plan that lets users share Premium perks with up to five other family members. However, YouTube is now reportedly sending some users emails telling them that their YouTube Premium membership will be paused in 14 days. When a member is flagged, they will retain their member status, but will lose out on Premium benefits.

The email from YouTube reads, “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.”

Priced at Rs 299 per month, the Premium Membership plan gives users access to several features like background play, ad-free video streaming, the option to skip segments in videos, and Smart Downloads, to name a few. While YouTube does require all family plan members to be located in the same household, the company hadn’t enforced any strict rules until now.