Sharing a YouTube Premium or YouTube Music family plan with people who don’t live at your address could soon cost you the perks you’re used to. Several users have reported receiving warnings that their accounts will be paused within 15 days if they don’t comply with YouTube’s rules on family plans.

The policy isn’t new. YouTube required family plan members to share the same household in 2023 but it looks like enforcement is stepping up. If you lose Premium, you can still stream videos and listen to music with ads but you’ll have to deal with ads and fewer features, which is a big downgrade for most people.

If you’re currently splitting an account across multiple locations, now’s the time to check the fine print. YouTube is making it clear: Premium is for households only and ignoring that rule could mean losing the ad-free experience entirely.

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A YouTube spokesperson told CNET, «Our family plan policy hasn’t changed and we are continuously enforcing it. You can learn more about the YouTube family plan here.»

On its support page, YouTube says that an account manager can add up to five family members in a household to their Premium membership. But, the post says, «Family members sharing a YouTube family plan must live in the same household as the family manager.» Groups can only be changed once every 12 months.

YouTube has been testing a two-household plan that would offer a discount for those who want to share, but that plan is not yet available in the US.

YouTube offers a one-month trial for its Premium and Music accounts, which cost $23 per month.

Subscription sharing crackdowns

YouTube joins other paid services that have started to enforce policies to cut down on the sharing of premium services.

Disney Plus and Netflix were among the services that began discouraging, and then actively blocking or restricting accounts they find are sharing passwords. Max joined them this year, introducing an $8 fee for those who want to share their account with one other person.

Similarly, Amazon is ending a program that allowed for sharing of its Prime service, requiring that those who don’t live at the same residence use their own paid Prime accounts for things like getting packages shipped free. Amazon’s Prime Invitee benefit-sharing program is ending Oct. 1.

The enforcement is meant to help recover revenue that these companies say they lose when people use someone else’s premium account instead of paying for their own. 

«It’s not hard to understand why streaming services feel the need to crack down. After all, the revenue to spend on new content or an improved experience must come from somewhere,» says Carl Lepper, Senior Director of Technology, Media & Telecom (TMT) Intelligence at JD Power.

«The calculation from streaming companies seems to be that limiting password sharing and account access will lead to more subscribers. You could argue the same about any sort of subscription service. It’s fairly intuitive. There’s a solid amount of evidence from media coverage that it works, at least initially,» Lepper says.

Does it work long-term? Lepper tells CNET that companies have to balance enforcing their policies without «ticking off» existing customers or denying potential customers from getting a chance to see what their service has to offer and potentially converting to their own account eventually.

Enforcement itself isn’t free, he points out. «Streamers themselves need to devote time and resources to enforcing such a policy,» Lepper says.

Amazon’s current deal on the Apple AirPods Pro 2 brings the price down to $199, a 20% discount from the usual $249. If you’ve been eyeing these earbuds for a while, this is a solid time to grab them—especially since pricing tends to fluctuate.

You can pick up your pair at Amazon for $199, a 20% price cut, which saves you $50. Just keep in mind that deals like this fluctuate, so if you’ve been eyeballing these magical earbuds for a while, now might be your last chance to grab them.

CNET’s key takeaways

• You can get these amazing earbuds for just $199 right now on Amazon.
• My teenager loves everything about them.
• The sound quality is exceptional.
• The noise cancellation can help give you some peace, even in a busy home.

My 13-year-old daughter loves her music and her privacy, and for years she has wanted a pair of AirPods. They’re not cheap, so I’ve only been getting her more budget options, like the Amazon Echo Buds, as a result. These kept seemingly disappearing though, so I finally ponied up for the AirPods Pro 2.

I picked them up during last year’s sales, and they were definitely well-received. She’s happy, she uses them every day, and she hasn’t lost them yet. They are currently $199 at Amazon, a nice $50 discount from the usual price. While that’s not the cheapest we’ve seen them, it’s still a solid price for a high-quality pair like these.

Why I didn’t wait for the AirPods Pro 3

Rumors abound that Apple will replace the Pro 2 with an updated Pro 3 version later this year. My kid wanted headphones sooner, so I got her the Pro 2s. But if you’re on the fence, here’s my perspective.

The main improvements to the Pro 3 are said to be heart-rate monitoring like the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 have, as well as a new design. Other speculation points to improved sound and processing with Apple’s H3 chip, temperature sensors, built-in infrared cameras, a touchscreen on the case, live translation of languages and more. There’s no way to know what they actually will have, but I do know that they’ll be more expensive than the Pro 2 (especially at this sale price). I don’t think those new features are going to be worth the money, however.

Hey, did you know? CNET Deals texts are free, easy and save you money.

You might have a different take, especially if you want heart-rate monitoring on your headphones for fitness sessions or one of those rumored extras. In that case, it might be worth waiting to see what the new versions include. The AirPods Pro 3 are expected to be announced in September and on sale soon after.

Why I didn’t get the AirPods 4 instead

Why did I choose AirPods Pro 2 instead of the newer AirPods 4 with ANC? First off, as I mentioned in another article about a different pair of earbuds I bought, I think sealed, in-ear buds are better than open-design models like the AirPods 4. The seal creates another layer of noise isolation and contributes to superior sound quality, and if you want to pay attention to the world you can always engage ambient sound mode, which Apple calls transparency mode. 

Also a factor was the commentary of CNET reviewer David Carnoy, who considers the Pro 2 the best Apple noise-canceling wireless earbuds: «While we’re quite impressed with those new models — and with the AirPods 4 ANC in particular — the AirPods Pro 2 remain arguably the best Apple AirPods you can buy if you don’t mind having silicone ear tips jammed in your ears.»

My daughter uses earplugs all the time to help her sleep, so she definitely qualifies as somebody who’s comfortable stuffing things in her ears. Like her fingers, when I start using words like «sigma,» «skibidi» and «relatable» to try to relate to her.

I asked Carnoy about the Pro 2s potentially not fitting in her kid-size ears and he reassured me that the range of eartips that come with the Pro 2s «now include XS, so they should fit.» 

Do AirPods make a great gift?

It took me years to finally understand, but yes, for someone looking for wireless earbuds, AirPods — especially the Apple AirPods Pro 2 — make the perfect gift, regardless of whether you’re a teenage girl or not. 

Labor Day has come and gone, and school is back in session. Though the leaves have yet to start turning, fall is making its way here. The official arrival of the season is the autumnal equinox, which occurs in the Northern Hemisphere in September. 

After a hot summer, the fall equinox marks a welcome shift in the seasons for many folks. But what exactly is an equinox? It’s all about Earth and its relationship with the sun. Here’s how to understand, visualize and celebrate the autumnal equinox.

When is the fall equinox?

This year, the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere falls on Monday, Sept. 22. If you want to be extra specific and mark it on your calendar, mark it for 11:19 a.m. PT.

Dates can shift slightly for equinoxes depending on the year, but it’s always around this time in September. The next vernal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere takes place on March 20, 2026, and will mark the start of spring.

What does the September equinox look like?

Wherever you are on Earth on the day of the equinox (and whether it’s a spring or fall equinox, depending on which hemisphere you live in), the sun will rise as close to east and set as close to west as possible, making it a foolproof compass. Go outside and watch the sunset and sunrise, and make a note of the landmarks in front of the sun. That way, you’ll always know what exactly is west and east.

The two annual equinoxes also feature the fastest sunrise and sunset of the year, with the sun taking just a few seconds to appear and disappear. That’s because this is the steepest angle at which the sun rises and sets during the year.

What is the fall equinox?

The meaning of equinox is right there in the name: a combination of the Latin words for equal and night. 

«There are only two times of the year when the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun, resulting in a ‘nearly’ equal amount of daylight and darkness at all latitudes,» the National Weather Service said in an explainer about the seasons. 

The Earth spins on an axis (imagine a line running from pole to pole) and the planet sports a jaunty 23.5-degree tilt. The tilt is what gives us seasons. As the Earth orbits the sun, the tilt means some areas of the planet get more direct sunlight than others. That’s how it can be summer in the Northern Hemisphere (tilted toward the sun) and winter in the Southern Hemisphere (tilted away from the sun) at the same time. During the equinox, the sun shines straight at the equator and gives equal love to the two hemispheres.

Other planets that are also tilted on their axes of rotation also experience equinoxes. The time scales can be very different, however. An equinox on Saturn only comes around about every 15 Earth years. That means each season lasts for over seven years on Saturn. It’s even wilder on Neptune, which has seasons that last decades. We can be grateful for the relatively short seasons on our planet.

How is equinox different from solstice?

As with equinoxes, solstices are associated with Earth’s tilt, but instead of daylight and nighttime being even, the days and nights are at their extremes. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, while the summer solstice is the longest. This year, the winter solstice for the Northern Hemisphere falls on Sunday, Dec. 21.

See equinoxes from space

Earth-watching satellites up in orbit have a unique view of the equinox. A NASA Earth Observatory video shows Earth from space and how the positioning of the sun’s light shifts with the changing of the seasons. It’s a great way to visualize what’s happening during our planet’s orbit around the sun. 

How to celebrate the fall equinox

Equinoxes aren’t like eclipses or meteors. There isn’t a big wow moment when you see something spectacular. The fall equinox this year will look like any other day, but it’s a handy way to mark the changing of the astronomical seasons. You can go around and declare, «It’s officially the first day of autumn!» How you celebrate is up to you. Here’s a suggestion: Put on your favorite sweater, go for a scenic foliage drive and sip a pumpkin spice latte to welcome fall in style.