In 2023, Netflix defied expectations by launching a successful effort to police accounts that had been shared between multiple households. Two years later, YouTube is betting that it can apply Netflix’s big move to its YouTube Premium service.
According to Android Police, YouTube is beginning to tighten its enforcement of its account-sharing rules. Some users who are subscribed to the YouTube Premium family plan have received messages informing them that their subscriptions “will be paused.” The warning went out to users who are accessing Premium from addresses that are different from the ones listed on their accounts. After a 14-day grace period, if those subscribers are still watching from the wrong location, they will be stripped of their Premium perks.
YouTube’s policies state that Premium family plan usage is meant to be shared within a single household, though that stipulation has seldom been enforced up to this point. The change could be inspired by the results of Netflix’s similar crackdown. After announcing its plan to eliminate password sharing, the streamer braced for cancellations. Instead, Netflix enjoyed a surge of signups after booting some members off of their shared accounts.
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Premium accounts for a growing slice of YouTube’s revenue pie. Subscription numbers across Premium and the related YouTube Music service crossed 100 million in 2024, and that number rose to 125 million this year. By taking a similar approach to Netflix, YouTube is looking to maximize earnings from subscription tiers like the family plan, which has been subject to several price hikes in recent years.
The latest crackdown accompanies YouTube’s previous efforts to wring more value out of Premium. The platform’s war against ad blockers, for example, gave users more reasons to buy into the ad-free experience they can get with a $13.99-per-month Premium plan. The latest push in that area may prove just as unpopular as Netflix’s actions, but the returns could very well be worth the critiques.
