Like Netflix: YouTube will check if you live with the owner of a Premium family subscription

YouTube is starting to tighten controls on the use of Premium family subscriptions, following the example of Netflix and other streaming services. This is reported by Android Police.

If previously the rules formally required that all family plan members "live under the same roof," now the platform is beginning to actively check and restrict access to those who live separately from the subscription owner.

The changes were announced to users who received a corresponding letter. The message states that if the system detects that plan members are not at the same physical address as the subscription manager, they will lose access to Premium after 14 days. At the same time, they will remain in the family group, but will only be able to watch videos with ads.

A YouTube Premium family membership lets you share ad-free access to YouTube and YouTube Music with up to five people.

The innovations are in line with a global trend. Netflix was the first to launch a large-scale fight against password sharing, which caused a wave of indignation among users. Despite this, the service later announced an increase in the number of subscribers after the introduction of restrictions. A similar approach is now being used by other market players.

YouTube is probably hoping for a similar outcome. Even if some users are unhappy, it could encourage others to sign up for their own subscriptions. At the same time, there haven't been many major complaints yet, so users still have some time before the new policy takes effect everywhere.