YouTube TV lets you add up to five other people to your account, and each person gets their own login, recommendations, and watch history

YouTube TV's family sharing feature works through Family Group, which is Google's system for linking accounts. When you set up a Family Group, you can add up to five other people — they don't need to live with you, though YouTube's terms say the service is meant for household members. Each person logs in with their own Google account, sees their own recommendations based on what they watch, and has their own saved shows and watch history. You control who can watch what and who can manage the group.

The person who pays for YouTube TV (the family manager) is the only one who needs a subscription. Everyone else in the group watches using that same subscription, but they each need their own Google account to join. If someone doesn't have a Google account yet, they can create one free at google.com.

Key Takeaways

  • You can add up to five other people to your YouTube TV account through Family Group, and each person needs their own Google account.
  • Only the family manager (the person paying for YouTube TV) needs a subscription; everyone else watches on that same subscription.
  • Each family member gets their own login, recommendations, watch history, and list of saved shows.
  • The family manager can remove people from the group or change parental controls at any time through Google Account settings.
  • If someone in your Family Group watches YouTube TV on a device you don't own, YouTube may ask them to confirm they live in your household.

How to create a Family Group and add members

Start by going to myaccount.google.com and signing in with the Google account that pays for YouTube TV. On the left side, click Family. If you don't see it, click Personal info first, then look for the Family option in the left menu.

Click Create family group or Set up family. Google will ask you to confirm your name and date of birth. Then you'll see a screen to add family members — click the plus sign or Invite family members. Enter the email address or phone number of each person you want to add. They'll get an invitation to join your Family Group. Once they accept, they can start watching YouTube TV when ready using their own Google account.

Each person you add will see a notification on their Google account asking them to join. They click Accept, and that's it — they're in the group. They don't need to do anything else. The next time they open YouTube TV on any device, they can sign in with their own Google account and start watching.

What each family member can see and do

Everyone in your Family Group has access to the full YouTube TV channel lineup and can watch anything the subscription includes. They each have their own list of saved shows, their own watch history, and their own recommendations based on what they personally watch. If one person watches cooking shows and another watches sports, their home screens will look completely different.

Family members can also use YouTube TV's features like DVR (recording shows to watch later), creating custom channel lists, and setting up reminders for shows they want to watch. Their DVR recordings and saved shows are private to them — if you record something, other family members won't see it in their list unless they search for it.

The family manager can set up parental controls to restrict what younger members can watch. You can block specific channels or require a PIN to watch content rated TV-14 or TV-MA. These restrictions explore only to the account you set them on — if you set parental controls on your child's account, they won't affect what other family members can watch.

Managing who can watch and removing people

Only the family manager can add or remove people from the group. If you need to remove someone, go back to myaccount.google.com, click Family, and find the person's name. Click the three dots next to their name and select Remove from family. They'll lose access to YouTube TV when ready — they won't be able to watch anymore, and their saved shows and watch history will be gone from the account.

You can also change who has permission to manage the Family Group. By default, only the person who created it is the manager, but you can give that role to another adult in the group. Go to the Family page, find the person you want to make a manager, click the three dots, and select Make manager. A manager can add and remove people, change parental controls, and manage payment methods.

If someone in your Family Group tries to watch YouTube TV on a device that's far from your home location, YouTube may ask them to confirm they live in your household. This is YouTube's way of preventing account sharing outside a family. They'll get a notification asking them to verify, and they can do that through their phone or email.

Streaming limits and simultaneous watching

YouTube TV allows up to three people to watch at the same time on one subscription. If a fourth person tries to start watching while three others are already watching, they'll get a message saying the limit has been reached and they'll need to wait for someone to stop watching. This applies whether people are watching on phones, tablets, computers, or TV devices — it's three streams total, not three per device type.

If your family often wants to watch different things at the same time, you might hit this limit. There's no way to increase it without buying a second YouTube TV subscription. Some families solve this by coordinating — for example, everyone watches live sports together during the day, and people watch recorded shows or on-demand content at different times.

Troubleshooting common sharing problems

If someone you invited isn't seeing the invitation, ask them to check their email (including spam folders) or check the phone number you used. Invitations expire after a few weeks, so if too much time has passed, you may need to send a new invitation. Go back to the Family page and invite them again.

If a family member can't sign in to YouTube TV, make sure they're using the same Google account they used to accept the Family Group invitation. YouTube TV is tied to the Google account, not to an email address or password — if they created a new account or forgot which one they used, that's usually the problem. Have them go to accounts.google.com to see which accounts they own.

If you're getting a message that the three-stream limit has been reached but you know fewer than three people are watching, try signing out and signing back in on the device that's having trouble. Sometimes YouTube TV's system gets out of sync, and signing out and back in fixes it. If that doesn't work, restart the app or device.

Privacy and what family members can see about each other

Family members cannot see each other's watch history, saved shows, or recommendations. Your viewing is completely private to you. The only thing the family manager can see is who is in the group and when they last watched something — not what they watched, just that they used the account recently.

When you set up Family Group, Google also links other Google services like Google Photos, Google Calendar, and Google Play. This is separate from YouTube TV sharing. If you don't want family members to see your photos or calendar, you can manage those permissions separately in Google Account settings. YouTube TV sharing doesn't automatically give anyone access to those other services.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share YouTube TV with someone who doesn't live with me?

YouTube's terms say the service is meant for household members, but the system doesn't prevent you from adding people who live elsewhere. However, if someone in your Family Group watches on a device far from your home location, YouTube may ask them to verify they live in your household. If they can't verify, they may lose access.

What happens to someone's saved shows if I remove them from the Family Group?

Their saved shows, watch history, and DVR recordings are deleted when ready when you remove them. They can't get them back. If you think you might want to add them back later, let them know to save a list of shows they want to watch.

Can two people watch YouTube TV at the same time if they're using the same device?

No. YouTube TV counts streams, not devices. If two people want to watch different things at the same time, they need to be on different devices, and that counts as two of your three allowed streams. If they're on the same device, only one person can watch at a time.

Do family members need to pay anything to join my YouTube TV subscription?

No. Once you add them to your Family Group, they can watch YouTube TV using your subscription at no extra cost. Only the family manager pays the YouTube TV subscription fee.

Can I change the parental controls after I set them up?

Yes. Go to the Family page in your Google Account, find the family member, click the three dots, and select Parental controls. You can change the restrictions, add or remove a PIN, or turn parental controls off entirely at any time.