To add an account to YouTube Premium family, you need an active YouTube Premium Family Plan, not an individual subscription, and every person you invite must live in the same household as you. Once you send an invitation, each family member uses their own Google Account to access the shared membership, so their watch history, subscriptions, and recommendations stay separate from yours, though you might still see ads on YouTube Premium if someone isn’t signed into the right profile.
Prerequisites for adding an account to YouTube Premium family
Before you can add anyone, confirm that you are the family manager on a YouTube Premium Family Plan. An individual YouTube Premium plan does not support family sharing, so you must upgrade to a Family Plan if you haven’t already. All family members, including you as the manager, must reside in the same household. Each person needs their own Google Account and must be 13 years of age or older. Neither you nor anyone you invite can currently be part of another Google Family group, and knowing how many accounts can use YouTube premium helps you plan your invitations before hitting the limit. Once your family group is set up, you can also download members only YouTube videos for offline viewing on any linked account.
How to add a family member on a web browser
Using a browser is the most straightforward way to manage your family group. You’ll need to be signed in to the Google Account that owns the Premium Family Plan.
- Go to YouTube.com/paid_memberships and sign in if prompted.
- Select “Manage membership” next to your plan details.
- Click “Edit” next to “Family sharing settings.”
- Choose “Invite family member.”
- Enter the person’s email address or phone number.
- Select “Send” to deliver the invitation.
Make sure you enter the correct email or phone number, because the invitation can only be sent to that contact point. The recipient will need to accept the invitation before they gain access to your plan.
How to add a family member in the YouTube app
If you prefer using your Android phone, the YouTube app gives you the same control over family sharing. The steps are slightly different from the browser version, but the result is identical.
- Open the YouTube app and tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Tap “Purchases and memberships.”
- Tap on your Premium membership to open its details.
- Next to “Family sharing settings,” tap “Edit.”
- Tap “Invite a new member.”
- Enter the person’s email address or phone number, then tap “Send.”
After you send the invite, the recipient must accept it to join your family group. They can do this from the email or text message they receive, and they’ll be prompted to sign in to their own Google Account or create one if they don’t have one yet.
What happens after you send the invitation
The person you invited will receive an invitation via email or text message. They must click the acceptance link and confirm that they want to join your family group. Once they accept, they immediately gain access to YouTube Premium benefits like ad-free videos, offline downloads, and background playback. Their account remains fully separate, so their watch history, subscriptions, and recommendations stay private and independent from yours and everyone else’s in the group.
Important rules and limitations
A family member cannot switch family groups more than once every 12 months, so choose your group carefully before inviting someone. Your Family Plan supports up to five additional members, for a total of six accounts including you as the family manager. As the manager, you are solely responsible for paying the membership fee, and no separate payment method setup is needed for anyone you invite, they simply use your plan’s benefits without any billing setup on their end. If you ever need to remove someone, you can do so from the same family sharing settings, but remember that the 12-month cooldown applies if they later try to join another group.
