YouTube TV

YouTube TV confirms family sharing issue as it plays with Netflix-like restrictions

Ben Schoon | Jun 3 2023 - 9:30 am PT

One of YouTube TV’s best aspects is its ability to share your account with family members, but some users are currently seeing an issue with that functionality.

Recently, some YouTube TV users have noticed that their family sharing accounts are broken for the accounts that are seeing the shared accounts not able to access YouTube TV, even in the same household. One Reddit user saw their spouse unable to access the base plan, including her recordings, despite still being in the family plan. When speaking with support, it was recommended to remove that account from family sharing and then add the user back, which ended up working.

Another thread saw a few users with the same issue.

Overnight, YouTube TV confirmed an ongoing issue with family sharing that is the cause of this problem. A fix is in the works, but the official workaround is to remove and re-add the affected accounts.

Just wanted to give an update — engineering is aware of this & is currently looking into how to fix it. In the meantime, there is a workaround. If you remove the family member & re-add them then they should be able to login again. I’ll let you know when I hear more info on this, though!

While this is going on, another family sharing “issue” on YouTube TV is also popping up. CordCuttersNews claims that a “growing number of people” are seeing YouTube TV throwing up a pop-up message that reminds users that they need to return to their home location or buy their own YouTube TV subscription. Notably, we can’t find any clear public reports of this behavior.

YouTube TV has always had a rule that family sharing is only allowed for users in the same household, but the platform has never strictly enforced that rule. With NFL Sunday Ticket and its notable viewing restrictions based on being at home or away, it could be that YouTube TV wants to take a stronger stance on sharing.

Have you run into this pop-up message? Let us know in the comments below, or share a picture with us via email.