A longtime YouTube Premium subscriber is facing the loss of access to a family plan, prompting fellow subscribers to share their frustrations with rising streaming costs and account sharing restrictions.
Here's what to know
The family subscription at issue was set up by the subscriber's mother, the poster revealed in the Reddit thread. They told the r/mildlyinfuriating community that they risked losing access despite having used YouTube Premium for 10 years.
The post's title captured their frustration: "Everything has gotten so greedy."
Combined individual subscriptions could leave a household paying roughly $100 monthly, the poster said, compared with about $15 for shared access. They described that shift as a growing strain on household budgets.
Other users shared stories of canceling subscriptions and offered suggestions for keeping family accounts active.
"Every service feels like it's gotten objectively worse than it was 10 years ago," one commenter wrote. "Maybe I just sound like an old man now, but it really feels like we're paying more for worse services across the board."
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More background
In an update, the original poster added some more context.
"I should have included this earlier but we DID live together when the account was started," they wrote. "I have since moved out."
Netflix and HBO were already off the poster's subscription list. They revealed similar account-sharing problems had prompted those cancellations before the current YouTube issue.
The prospect of paying for three Netflix subscriptions made little sense to one commenter given the service's selection. When sharing became an issue, the commenter, their brother, and their father all canceled. For them, restricting family members to one geographical location also undermined the value of paying for four screens.
Higher prices and programming split among competing platforms had changed the experience for another user, who remembered paying about $7 a month for Netflix's movie delivery service. They listed Prime, HBO, Hulu/Disney/ESPN, Netflix, YouTube, and Paramount as examples of the subscriptions needed to keep up with different shows.
What can be done?
Several commenters provided suggestions on how to maintain access to content, including cycling through subscriptions.
"Literally nobody needs all services at the same time. Just have Netflix for a month or two, then move on to Disney, then move on to HBO, etc.," one user proposed.
The original poster also expanded on why they were so resistant to these premium services in the thread.
"If it didn't cost an arm and a leg I would 100% get my own, but it just feels like a scam when originally streaming services were meant to give you more options for a fraction of the price of cable, and now we've gone back to cable with more steps," they explained.
Where can I learn more?
YouTube Premium subscribers aren't the only ones frustrated by streaming costs and subscription rules.
• A Utah subscriber said their iTunes family plan rose from $17 to $20.
• A family said Sky ignored repeated cancellation requests while pushing costly packages for their ill father.
• Americans are canceling streaming services as their subscription bills approach $120 a month.
• Netflix offered a pause instead of cancellation, prompting commenters to warn about billing restarting.
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